Estate Planning & Probate

Wills, Trusts and Estates Lawyer

Are your plans in place or are you assuming that your spouse and children will "work it out"? Do you need to update an old will to reflect life changes or protect your increased asset base?

At the law firm of Hummel & Lewis, we provide both basic estate planning services and advanced strategies to minimize the costs of probate and taxes or provide for specific needs of your heirs. At our firm, attorney Barry Lewis can develop a comprehensive and reasonably priced plan to meet your goals and give you piece of mind. He can also efficiently settle the estate of a loved one who has passed away or handle probate litigation.

Call us at 877.829.8987 to arrange an initial consultation. We serve a wide spectrum of clients in Bloomsburg, Danville, Berwick and surrounding communities of Columbia County and the Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania.

Estate Planning

We will help you think about your legacy and what you want your family to know and do if you die or become incapacitated:

• A will
• Power of attorney
• Healthcare power of attorney for medical and end-of-life decisions (living will)
• Appointment of guardians for minor children
• Trusts

We are knowledgeable about various vehicles to accomplish more sophisticated estate planning goals for high net worth clients: family limited partnerships (FLP) for succession of a family business, special needs trusts for a disabled child, charitable trusts and trusts to bypass probate or minimize inheritance tax.

We also advise on elder law issues, gifting of assets to children and asset planning to anticipate nursing home care.

Probate Administration and Litigation

Our firm can help you through the appointed duties if you are named personal representative of a family member's estate: gathering assets, paying debts and taxes, distributions to heirs and final accounting and reporting. We provide efficient, cost-effective guidance for these time-consuming and sometimes complicated tasks. If you live out of state, we can handle most matters on your behalf without your need to travel to Pennsylvania.

Our firm also represents the estate, beneficiaries, excluded heirs or personal representatives in probate litigation related to things like contested wills or accusations of a breach of fiduciary duty.

You can arrange a consultation about your estate planning or probate needs at 570.245.6720 or 877.829.8987 (toll free), or by e-mail.