Estate Planning Attorney in Akron, OH
Spatz Law Group helps families in Akron and across Northeast Ohio build an estate plan that keeps the people you love out of court, out of conflict, and never guessing what you wanted.
Areas We Serve: Serving families in Akron, Fairlawn, Bath, Montrose, Copley, West Akron, Green and North Canton.
Your plan starts with a conversation with attorney Debra A. Spatz, the attorney who writes it. Before you meet, an Estate Planning Questionnaire puts everything you own in one place, so your Estate Planning Session can focus on your family instead of paperwork.
Many families arrive with a will they found online or a binder that hasn't been touched in years. In your session, you'll see what would actually happen to your family today, explained in plain English, and decide what to change from there.
Instead of a stack of cookie-cutter forms, you leave with documents built around your children, your home and your worries.
And because your plan is kept current as your life changes, it still works on the day your family needs it.
Estate Planning Consultation
Your Estate Planning Session follows a simple order. You complete a questionnaire about your family and what you own, then sit down with Debra to see what would happen to your family today if something happened to you. Your options are explained in plain English, and you decide what to do next with the full picture in front of you.
Learn more about Estate Planning Consultation
Estate Plan Review & Update
Most estate plans don't fail at signing. They fail years later, when a new marriage, a grandchild, a move or an account that was never retitled leaves the documents saying something you no longer mean. A review checks your will or trust and your beneficiary designations against the life you have now, then updates what no longer fits.
Learn more about Estate Plan Review & Update
Will Preparation
A will decides who inherits, who manages your estate and who raises your children, and it speaks for you when you can't. What surprises many families is that a will alone does not keep your home out of probate court. Debra explains when a will is enough for your family and when it isn't.
Learn more about Will Preparation
Revocable Living Trusts
A revocable living trust is a private container for your home, accounts and savings, one you control completely and can change whenever you like. But a trust only works if your property is actually in it, and many families learn too late that the deed was never changed and the house goes through probate anyway.
Learn more about Revocable Living Trusts
Irrevocable Trusts
Irrevocable trusts are where Debra's finance degree and years in transactional law are put to work. These trusts can move assets out of your name to protect savings from a long nursing home stay or shield them from future creditors. Once signed, they are hard to undo, so the design matters as much as the document.
Learn more about Irrevocable Trusts
Living Will & Advance Directives
Hospitals ask families impossible questions when a loved one can't speak for themselves. A living will answers them ahead of time, telling your doctors what life-sustaining treatment you want if you are terminally ill or permanently unconscious, so your children aren't left guessing or arguing in a hospital hallway.
Learn more about Living Will & Advance Directives
Health Care Power of Attorney
This document does one specific job. It names the person who talks with your doctors and makes medical decisions whenever you can't, not just at the end of life. Debra helps you think through who should hold that role and who should back them up.
Learn more about Health Care Power of Attorney
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
Without a durable financial power of attorney, a family may have to ask the probate court for a guardianship just to pay a parent's bills or sell a house. This document lets you choose that person now, so someone you trust can manage your accounts quietly if illness or an accident leaves you unable to.
Learn more about Durable Financial Power of Attorney
Guardianship Designation for Minor Children
Debra is a mom of five, so she understands why this is the question that keeps so many parents up at night. Naming guardians in writing, with backups in case your first choice can't serve, keeps the decision about who raises your children with you instead of a judge.
Learn more about Guardianship Designation for Minor Children
Special Needs Trusts
A special needs trust sits between your loved one and the money you leave them, holding it for therapies, care, equipment and the extras that make life fuller. Because the money is never theirs outright, it protects the Medicaid or SSI benefits they depend on, long after you're gone.
Learn more about Special Needs Trusts
Estate Tax Planning
Ohio repealed its estate tax in 2013, so the question for your family is federal estate tax, which reaches only larger estates. Your plan looks at everything you own, including life insurance and retirement accounts that people often forget to count, and uses trusts and lifetime gifts to keep more of it in your family.
Learn more about Estate Tax Planning
Estate Planning for Families with Young Children
A plan for young parents comes together in three pieces: guardians who will raise your kids, a trust that holds their inheritance so they don't receive it all at 18, and a trusted person to manage that money until they're ready. Together, they protect your children if the unthinkable happens.
Learn more about Estate Planning for Families with Young Children
Estate Planning for Blended Families
The most common mistake in a second marriage is a simple will that leaves everything to your spouse, who can later leave it all to their own family. Your children from a prior marriage can end up with nothing, not even the photos. Your plan provides for your spouse and still makes sure each of your children receives what you intend.
Learn more about Estate Planning for Blended Families
Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples
On paper, Ohio law treats an unmarried partner as a stranger, with no automatic right to inherit and no automatic say in your medical care. A will, powers of attorney and the right beneficiary choices put your partner where you want them: named in your plan and beside you when decisions are made.
Learn more about Estate Planning for Unmarried CouplesNot sure which of these your family needs? That's what your Estate Planning Session is for.
Schedule a consultation★★★★★Google review
If you are looking for a local estate attorney in Bath, Ohio, Deb Spatz with Spatz Law Group is truly exceptional. I know several people who have worked with Deb, and they consistently share nothing but positive experiences. Deb takes the time to get to know you and your story, allowing her to create a plan that brings real peace of mind for you and your family. She even offers the option to record a legacy video for your loved ones, which is an incredibly meaningful and lasting gift. Do not wait until it is too late. I highly recommend calling Deb today.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents are in a basic estate plan in Ohio?
Most plans include a will, a financial power of attorney, a health care power of attorney and a living will. Families with minor children add guardian designations, and many add a revocable living trust to keep their home out of probate. In your Estate Planning Session, Debra explains which pieces your family actually needs.
Is a transfer on death designation affidavit enough instead of a trust?
For some homeowners, it can be. Ohio lets you name who receives your home through a transfer on death designation affidavit recorded with the county recorder, which keeps that property out of probate. But it doesn't name guardians, plan for incapacity, manage money for young or vulnerable heirs, or cover your other assets. Debra helps you weigh which approach fits.
How often should I update my estate plan?
Review your plan after any big life change, such as a marriage, divorce, birth, death, move, new business or a large change in what you own. Even without a big change, a regular check catches outdated beneficiary designations and changes in the law. Keeping your plan current is part of working with us.
Can a trust protect my savings from nursing home costs?
Sometimes. A revocable living trust does not protect assets from long-term care costs, because you still control it. Certain irrevocable trusts can, but Ohio Medicaid reviews past transfers when you apply, so planning early matters. Debra reviews your situation and explains what protection is realistic for you.
Who should I choose as my executor or trustee?
Choose someone organized, trustworthy and willing, who can stay calm with family and paperwork. It doesn't have to be your oldest child or the person who lives closest. You can name a backup, and in some families a neutral professional is the better choice. Debra helps you think through the options before anything is signed.
Don't leave your family guessing
Estate planning is easy to put off because there's no deadline, until there is. Your Estate Planning Session with Debra shows you what would happen to your family today, in plain English.