Estate Planning
Built Around Your Life
Comprehensive estate planning services for individuals, families, and business owners in Upstate South Carolina — protecting what matters most.
Protect Your Assets.
Protect Your Family.
Estate planning is one of the most important steps you can take to secure your family's future and protect the assets you've worked a lifetime to build. Without a proper plan, your estate may face unnecessary delays, taxes, legal complications, and family conflict.
At Forward Law, Charlie Carpenter, Esq., J.D., LL.M. in Taxation provides thorough, personalized estate planning counsel for clients throughout Greenville, Upstate South Carolina, and beyond. Whether you need a foundational will and power of attorney, a comprehensive revocable living trust to avoid probate, or sophisticated tax minimization strategies, we tailor every plan to your specific goals.
We work with individuals at all stages of life — from young families establishing their first estate plan, to business owners planning for succession, to clients relocating from community property states who need their existing documents reviewed and updated for South Carolina law.
Talk to an AttorneyOur Estate Planning Practice Areas
- Wills & Last Testaments
- Revocable Living Trusts
- Powers of Attorney (Financial & Healthcare)
- Living Wills & Advance Directives
- Estate & Gift Tax Planning
- Probate Avoidance Strategies
- Trust Funding & Asset Retitling
- Beneficiary Designation Review
- Incapacity Planning
- Trust Administration
- Community Property Analysis
Estate Planning Services
From foundational documents to advanced trust strategies — every service is tailored to your individual circumstances and financial objectives.
Wills
A properly drafted Will ensures your assets are distributed according to your wishes, names a trusted executor, and — critically — designates a guardian for your minor children. Forward Law guides you through each step.
Living Wills
A Living Will — also called an Advance Directive — provides written, legally binding instructions regarding your preferences for medical care, life support, and end-of-life decisions if you are unable to communicate your wishes.
Power of Attorney
A Durable Power of Attorney authorizes a trusted person to manage your finances and make legal decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. Without one, a court-supervised guardianship proceeding may be required.
Trusts
Forward Law assists clients in developing a Trust tailored to your individual circumstances and financial goals — including asset protection, minimizing tax liability, business succession planning, creditor protection, and Medicaid eligibility planning.
Living Trusts / Revocable Trust Planning
A Revocable Living Trust is one of the most powerful tools in estate planning. It allows assets to pass to your beneficiaries without going through probate, maintains privacy, and provides continuity of management if you become incapacitated. Especially critical if you own real estate in multiple states.
Probate Avoidance Strategies
Probate is a public, time-consuming, and costly court process. Forward Law structures your estate — using trusts, Transfer on Death designations, joint ownership, and beneficiary planning — to keep your assets out of probate and in your family's hands faster.
Trust Funding & Asset Retitling
Creating a trust is only half the work — it must be properly funded to be effective. We assist in retitling real property, financial accounts, and other assets into your trust so that it accomplishes its intended purpose at the time it's needed most.
Beneficiary Designation Review
Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and financial accounts pass by contract — not through your will. We review all beneficiary designations to ensure they align with your overall estate plan, particularly after major life events such as marriage, divorce, or the death of a beneficiary.
Trust Administration
When a loved one passes, the successor trustee has significant legal duties. Forward Law guides trustees through the administration process — from notifying beneficiaries and inventorying assets to making distributions and filing final tax returns — with confidence and legal compliance.
Asset Protection
Forward Law provides comprehensive asset protection planning, utilizing legal structures to shield assets from potential creditors, lawsuits, and other threats — while keeping your wealth accessible to you during your lifetime.
Estate & Gift Tax Planning
With federal estate tax exemptions scheduled to decrease after 2025, now is the time to plan. Whether you need a comprehensive estate tax strategy or guidance within an existing plan, we offer strategic consultation for both estate and gift tax planning — including irrevocable trust strategies such as SLATs, ILITs, and CRTs.
Incapacity Planning
An incapacity plan ensures that if you are unable to make decisions for yourself — whether temporarily or permanently — the right people have the authority to manage your finances, make medical decisions, and care for your family without court intervention. This includes Healthcare Powers of Attorney, HIPAA Authorizations, and Living Wills.
Community Property Analysis
South Carolina is a common law property state. Clients relocating from community property states such as California, Texas, or Arizona may have documents that do not transfer cleanly to SC law. We review and update existing estate plans for clients who have moved to ensure their documents remain valid, enforceable, and optimized.
Estate Planning Checklist
Use this guide to identify which estate planning documents apply to your situation. Bring it to your consultation with Forward Law as a starting point for your plan.
- Revocable Living Trust Avoids probate, controls asset distribution, provides continuity if incapacitated. Especially important if you own real estate in multiple states.
- Last Will and Testament Names an executor, directs asset distribution, and — critically — designates a guardian for minor children.
- Durable Power of Attorney (Financial) Authorizes a trusted person to manage your finances if incapacitated. Without this, a court-supervised guardianship may be required.
- Healthcare Power of Attorney Names someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot communicate your wishes.
- Living Will / Advance Directive Documents your wishes regarding end-of-life care, artificial life support, and resuscitation.
- HIPAA Authorization Allows your designated agents to receive protected health information from your doctors and hospitals.
- Guardian Designation Names who will raise your children if both parents are gone. One of the most important decisions in your estate plan.
- Testamentary Trust for Minors Holds assets in trust for children until a specified age, rather than distributing outright at 18.
- Life Insurance Review Confirm beneficiary designations align with your plan. Life insurance proceeds pass outside of your will.
- 529 / Education Account Beneficiary Review Ensure education accounts are properly titled and beneficiaries are current.
- Deed / Title Review Confirm how title is held — joint tenancy, tenants in common, or individually. How you hold title determines what happens at death.
- Trust Transfer Deed If you have a living trust, real property should be deeded into the trust to avoid probate.
- Multi-State Property Property in another state requires ancillary probate unless held in a trust. An attorney licensed in that state should review.
- Beneficiary Deed / TOD Deed Some states allow a transfer-on-death deed that passes property outside probate without a trust. (Note: not available in SC.)
- Retirement Accounts (IRA, 401k, 403b) Review primary and contingent beneficiary designations. These pass by contract — not through your will.
- Life Insurance Policies Confirm beneficiary designations are current, especially after divorce, remarriage, or death of a named beneficiary.
- Bank / Brokerage Accounts Consider adding a TOD or POD designation to avoid probate on financial accounts.
- Business Interests If you own a business, review your operating agreement or buy-sell agreement for succession provisions.
- Digital Assets Document access credentials and designate who can manage or close social media, email, and financial accounts.
- Estate Tax Exposure Federal estate tax applies to estates over $13.61M (2024). SC and NC have no state estate tax.
- Gift Tax Planning Annual exclusion gifts ($18,000 per recipient in 2024) reduce your taxable estate over time.
- Irrevocable Trust Strategies SLATs, ILITs, and Charitable Remainder Trusts can significantly reduce estate tax exposure.
- Step-Up in Basis Planning Assets held at death receive a stepped-up cost basis, which can significantly reduce capital gains tax for heirs. Proper titling matters.
- Charitable Giving Charitable bequests, donor-advised funds, and charitable remainder trusts can achieve both philanthropic and tax goals.
- Marriage or Divorce Update beneficiaries, powers of attorney, and trust provisions immediately.
- Birth or Adoption of a Child Add guardian designation and update trust distribution provisions.
- Death of a Beneficiary or Fiduciary Update successor trustee, executor, and beneficiary designations.
- Significant Change in Assets A major increase or decrease in net worth may require restructuring your plan.
- Relocation to Another State State law governs wills and trusts — documents valid in one state may need updating for SC law.
- Changes in Tax Law Estate and gift tax exemptions are scheduled to decrease after 2025. Review your plan before year-end.
Schedule Your Estate
Planning Consultation
We offer flat-fee estate planning packages for individuals, married couples, and business owners throughout Greenville and Upstate South Carolina — fully remote via phone or video available.
