PRACTICE AREAS
ESTATE PLANNING
LEGAL SERVICES
Estate Planning Lawyers Proudly Serving the Stroudsburg, Brodheadsville, and Pocono Summit Areas and Beyond
ABOUT OUR PRACTICE
POCONO ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEYS
Your estate and how you want it distributed should not be something you begin considering only as you approach the end of your life. The time to begin planning is now. Estate planning is important for adults of all ages and can provide lasting protection for you and the people you care about.
MHK Attorneys provides experienced estate planning guidance to clients throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Our team assists with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, inheritance tax planning, guardianships, and other important planning matters.
Whether you need a straightforward will or a more comprehensive plan involving trusts and asset protection strategies, MHK is here to help. Our attorneys can work with financial professionals and other advisors to create an estate plan that reflects your needs, protects your assets, and supports your long term goals.
Our compassionate team understands that planning for the future can be an emotional process. We guide you through every step with clarity, care, and experienced legal counsel.
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WHAT WE HANDLE
ESTATE PLANNING SERVICES
WILLS
Document your wishes, protect your assets, and provide clear instructions for how your estate should be handled.
Trusts and Estates
Protect your legacy and provide for your loved ones through a thoughtful estate plan tailored to your goals.
PA Inheritance Taxes
Understand potential Pennsylvania inheritance tax obligations and explore planning strategies that may help protect your estate.
Probate and Estate Administration
Create a plan designed to preserve your property and reduce unnecessary financial and legal complications.
Guardianships
Get legal help protecting a loved one who needs assistance making important personal, medical, or financial decisions.
Powers & Directives
Prepare for future financial, legal, and medical decisions through powers of attorney and healthcare directives.
ESTATE PLANNING PROCESS
FROM PLANNING TO PEACE OF MIND
A thoughtful estate plan can protect your wishes, prepare for future decisions, and provide greater clarity for the people you care about. MHK Attorneys can guide you through each step.
GOALS AND PRIORITIES
STEP 01
Clarifying Your Goals and Family Needs
The planning process begins with understanding your wishes, family circumstances, assets, and the people or organizations you want to protect.
Get Legal Guidance →ASSETS AND BENEFICIARIES
STEP 02
Reviewing Assets and Beneficiary Designations
Reviewing how property is owned and how accounts are designated helps identify what your plan must address and how assets may transfer.
Get Legal Guidance →TRUSTED DECISION MAKERS
STEP 03
Choosing the People You Trust
Select the individuals who may serve as executor, trustee, financial agent, healthcare representative, or guardian when those roles are needed.
Get Legal Guidance →WILLS
STEP 04
Creating or Updating Your Will
A properly drafted will helps explain how assets should be distributed, who should carry out your wishes, and who should care for minor children when applicable.
Get Legal Guidance →TRUSTS AND PROTECTION
STEP 05
Considering Trusts and Asset Protection
Trusts and other planning tools can help manage assets, provide for loved ones, address specific family needs, and support your long term goals.
Get Legal Guidance →POWERS AND DIRECTIVES
STEP 06
Preparing Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives
These documents allow trusted individuals to assist with financial, legal, or medical decisions if you become unable to make or communicate them.
Get Legal Guidance →TAXES AND LEGACY
STEP 07
Planning for Taxes and Your Legacy
Your attorney can help you consider Pennsylvania inheritance taxes, charitable goals, family needs, and strategies for preserving your legacy.
Get Legal Guidance →REVIEWING YOUR PLAN
STEP 08
Finalizing and Keeping Your Plan Current
Once your documents are signed, keep them secure and review your plan after major life changes so it continues to reflect your wishes.
Get Legal Guidance →LEGAL SUPPORT
GUARDIANSHIPS
An adult child or another trusted person may need to step in when a parent or loved one can no longer make important decisions independently. If that person has not established an effective power of attorney, MHK Attorneys can assist with pursuing a formal guardianship.
A guardianship can authorize a trusted person to make important personal, financial, or medical decisions for someone who cannot act independently. Our attorneys help families understand the guardianship process and work to protect the best interests of their loved ones.
Adult Guardianship
Protecting adults who can no longer make important decisions independently.
Financial Guardianship
Managing financial matters and protecting the assets of a loved one in need.
Healthcare Guardianship
Helping ensure medical and personal care decisions serve your loved one’s best interests.
START TODAY
ESTATE PLANNING TODAY.
PEACE OF MIND TOMORROW.
People often do not like to think about incapacity or end of life matters, but planning now can help you approach the future with greater confidence while giving your loved ones the clarity and security they deserve.
OUR TEAM
Meet Our Estate Planning Attorneys
JOSEPH P. HANYON
JD, LLM, ESQ.
CONNIE J. MERWINE
JD, CPA, LLM, MLA
Marshall M. Hanyon
ESQ.
COMMON QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Estate planning is the process of creating legal instructions for the management and distribution of your assets. It can also address incapacity, medical care, financial decision making, guardianship preferences, and the needs of your loved ones.
Estate planning allows you to communicate your wishes, provide for loved ones, appoint trusted decision makers, prepare for incapacity, and reduce uncertainty for your family.
An estate plan may include a will, one or more trusts, a durable financial power of attorney, an advance healthcare directive, beneficiary designations, and other documents based on your circumstances.
A will is a legal document that explains how a person wants certain assets distributed after death. It can also appoint an executor and identify preferred guardians for minor children.
A living trust is a legal arrangement through which assets can be held and managed during a person’s lifetime. The trust can also provide instructions for managing and distributing those assets after death.
Certain estate planning strategies may allow some assets to pass outside probate. Whether probate can or should be avoided depends on the types of assets involved, how they are owned, and the goals of the estate plan.
An advance healthcare directive provides instructions regarding medical care if you become unable to communicate or make healthcare decisions independently.
A durable power of attorney authorizes a trusted person to handle specified financial and legal matters if you become unable to manage them yourself.
Thoughtful planning may help individuals and families understand potential Pennsylvania inheritance tax obligations and prepare for how those obligations could affect an estate.
You should review your estate plan after major life events, including marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the death of a beneficiary or appointed representative, relocation, or significant financial changes. A general review every few years is also advisable.
