About Our Firm

The S&K Difference

At Stockton & Kandt, we approach estate planning not as a mere transaction, but as a partnership. We aim to be your trusted family advisor, guiding you through important decisions with care and expertise.

Our plans go beyond ensuring that your assets go to whom you want, when you want, and in the way you want. They also provide protections and planning options for potential nursing home care needs. Most people simply fail to plan for this potential until they are already in crisis mode. We work to make sure our clients and their families are prepared in the event they ever need nursing care.  We also work to assist clients minimize taxes, not just at death, but throughout their lifetimes. Again, most estate planning simply ignores the impact of taxes.

The S&K difference is evident in our comprehensive approach. In addition to helping make sure that the plans we create for our clients will work when they are needed and that they address long-term care and taxes, our process also includes:

• Family Meetings: We offer a complimentary Family Meeting where we meet with the families and key individuals involved in your plan to explain what they need to know and where to find essential documents. After all, it is typically your loved ones that are handling the plan upon your incapacity or death. We want to ensure that these key individuals know what the plan is, where to find the documents when needed and know that we are here to help them when needed.
• Annual Reviews: We provide annual meetings to our clients at no cost.  The purpose of these meetings are to confirm with our clients the plan choices they have made (such as choice of executor, successor trustee, power of attorney, beneficiaries, etc.) and to help update asset information and confirm that accounts remain properly titled and that we and your family know what assets you own, helping ensure your plan remains current.
• Power of Attorney Updates: Given that many banks and financial institutions have internal policies that provide that they will not honor or accept powers of attorneys more than 5-years old, we update our clients’ durable power of attorneys for finances and property with new signatures every three years at no charge.

Our goal is to be a trusted advisor for every client we represent. We strive to be one of the first calls our clients or their families make, whether it’s to inform us of a new grandchild, a career advancement, a serious health diagnosis, or a family death.

These are just some of the ways we define the S&K difference, ensuring that you and your family are well-prepared for whatever the future holds.

Our firm offers a wealth of free information and free seminars. Read our Estate Planning reports, and if you’re in the area, join us at an Estate Planning seminar. We want you to feel confident about the choices you make—let us be your guide on the path toward preserving your family’s future.

Estate Planning

Through the use of Living Trusts, Wills (simple & complex), Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Irrevocable Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships, and Charitable Gifting Strategies, our firm helps families preserve their wealth for future generations, minimize estate taxes, and avoid the expense and nightmare of probate.

We provide comprehensive, tailored estate planning services to meet all of our clients’ needs. Below is a sampling of the type of services we offer. If you have questions about any of our services, please do not hesitate to contact us or call us at (913) 856-2828.

Incapacity Planning

Our law firm helps clients create a plan to handle their affairs in the event of an incapacity before they pass away. This includes planning to avoid a Living Probate or Guardianship proceeding.

IRA & Retirement Planning

Our law firm has experience in the complex area of estate planning with IRAs and other retirement plans. We help ensure clients and their beneficiaries are protected by employing tax reduction techniques.

Elder Law & Medicaid Services

We help clients qualify for government Medicaid benefits legally and ensure their estates are preserved for their families, instead of their nest egg being wiped out by high nursing home expenses.

Asset Protection & Business Planning

We help clients who are small business owners and those who are most susceptible to being sued by assisting with Lawsuit and Asset Protection. We also assist with Business Succession Planning and Small Business Planning. Some of the tools and strategies used are Family Limited Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies and Buy-Sell Agreements.

Special Needs Planning

We offer assistance to clients who have special needs family members by creating Special Needs Estate Plans. These tailored plans help them preserve government benefits while having their loved one cared for in all areas of their life: financial, educational and Medicaid, and most importantly, their emotional and personal needs in the future.

Probate

Dealing with probate can put a burden on your family, but we can help you navigate these difficult waters.

Trust Administration

We help families who have experienced the loss of a loved one with the ensuing Trust Administration process.

Connect with Our Caring Team

If you are in need of assistance with any of our areas of law in Kansas or Missouri, please feel free to call our office at (913) 521-2828 or (913) 856-2828.