Estate Planning
A thoughtfully crafted plan is the most powerful gift you can give your family — and the most strategic tool you have for protecting what you've built.
Estate planning is not about dying — it is about living with intention. A well-designed estate plan protects your assets during your lifetime, ensures your wealth transfers according to your exact wishes (not the government's default rules), minimizes taxes, and spares your family from unnecessary cost, conflict, and delay. At The Faulkner Firm, every plan is built around your actual life — not a template.
"Estate planning is not about death — it is about protecting life. Every decision you make now is a gift to the people you love most."
Services We Provide
The cornerstone of most estate plans. A properly funded revocable trust avoids probate, provides privacy, offers incapacity protection, and allows seamless wealth transfer. We draft trusts designed to last across generations — not just check a legal box.
A will ensures your wishes are documented and your guardianship designations for minor children are legally established. We pair wills with trusts to create comprehensive, coordinated plans.
A durable financial power of attorney allows someone you trust to manage your finances if you become incapacitated — without court intervention. This document is as important as any will or trust.
Your healthcare decisions belong to you, even when you cannot speak for yourself. We draft directives that clearly communicate your wishes and protect your family from making impossible decisions alone.
For business owners, high-income professionals, and families with significant assets, strategic planning can shield wealth from future creditors, lawsuits, and claims. We build legal structures that protect what you've worked to build.
What We Handle for You
Revocable & irrevocable trust drafting and funding
Will and pour-over will preparation
Durable powers of attorney — financial and healthcare
Living wills and advance healthcare directives
Beneficiary designation review and coordination
Business succession integration into estate plans
Why This Matters Strategically
Estate planning without legal counsel often results in plans that fail — unfunded trusts, inconsistent beneficiary designations, outdated documents, and structures that create the exact tax burden and family conflict they were meant to prevent. Debbie Faulkner brings her LL.M. in Taxation and 20+ years of practice to every plan, ensuring that the strategy holds up when it matters most — when you are no longer there to clarify your intentions.
"Debra Faulkner could not have been more professional and knowledgeable. I left feeling that she really cared. She was patient and explained everything thoroughly. I never felt rushed. I highly recommend The Faulkner Firm."Lee · Verified Google Review · Estate Planning Client