Osgood and Osgood, LLC

Estate Planning

• Name the persons you wish to inherit your assets. Estate planning is not just a question of net worth, often it is just as important to pass along things of more sentimental value.
• Name the persons who will take care of your minor children or those with special needs, and also who will manage the assets you leave to them.
• Plan to avoid or reduce taxes.
• Lessen the burden on your heirs.
• Make your desires known about end of life decisions and dying with dignity.

Real Property

The ownership of property, and the right to dispose of it as we see fit, is a cornerstone of the laws we live under. “Real” property is land, and the buildings and other things we put on it. Interests in real property can take many forms and serve many different purposes. The interest we call ownership is only one of the interests which can, and likely do, affect your property. The bank that holds a mortgage on your home owns an interest in the real property. The same is true for covenants, and easements, and mineral rights, and rights-of-way, and development and subdivision agreements, and many other types of interests. We can help you discover, understand, address the interests that concern the real property you want to sell or buy, whether it is your first home, or a complex commercial transaction. And we can draft and prepare instruments which will create new interests in real property to show your ownership, or to establish your right to use a road, or share a water well, or for encroachment of a fence, or a sewer line, or a leach field, or to otherwise address all the issues which arise when different persons’ interests and desires bump into each other.

Business

Like real property, business representation is a broad umbrella which encompasses a lot of different services. We represent buyers and sellers of businesses, from small to large, and assist with the due diligence necessary to such transactions. We also often act as a third-party escrow agent to conduct the closings of business purchases and sales, even when we do not represent either party. We counsel clients on what types of business entities may best serve their needs, and form the corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities which they decide are best for them. When persons have formed their own business entities, or have had their accountants do so, we can make such corrections as are needed to fix, complete, or update the necessary paperwork for their companies. We provide ongoing representation as needed for small businesses, and all the various issues which arise in the course of doing business, including contracts, the addition of new “partners”, and disputes with customers or other third-parties, or between co-owners.

Probate and Trust Administration

Probate is the process of gathering together, managing, and distributing a person’s estate after they have died. In some states, the process is difficult and costly, but that is usually not the case in Colorado. We understand the process, and can help clients wend their way through it with a minimum of time, stress, and expense.

When a person’s assets have been transferred to a trust during their lifetimes (rather than passing under a Will), we can help in the often similar process of managing and distributing the person’s assets outside of the supervision of the courts.