Family Law
 

   Dawn M. Mann is an attorney practicing in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico in principal areas of estate planning [wills, trusts, powers of attorney, guardianships, conservatorships, adoptions, probate], business planning [incorporation and succession planning], and real estate [contracts, closings, quiet titles, foreclosures]. Dawn is originally from Miami, Florida, but moved out west for the beauty of the mountains and the kindness of the people that reside here. She has lived and practiced in Walsenburg, Colorado for over ten years.

   Estate Planning can be broken down into three categories: Incapacity Planning, Wealth Transfer Planning and Beneficiary Protection Planning. Incapacity Planning creates a plan to care for you and your loved ones if you are disabled or incapacitated. Without proper incapacity planning, your private information and the decisions to be made about your care may be in the hands of a judge, who has no personal information about your desires or needs. Some of the tools of incapacity planning are financial and medical powers of attorney, living wills, and medical releases.

   Wealth Transfer Planning [aka how to keep Uncle Sam from becoming an unintended beneficiary] creates a plan to transfer your wealth, preserve and protect assets, minimize taxes, maintain privacy, and minimize court intervention. Basic tools of Wealth Transfer Planning are revocable trusts and pour-over wills. Advanced planning might involve an irrevocable trust or family limited partnership just to name a few of the many options. Beneficiary Protection Planning creates a plan to provide for and protect your loved ones, including guardianships for minor children, spendthrift protection for a loved one with creditors or a money management problem, special needs planning for special needs children, and divorce and asset protection. Business Planning involves determining the best entity for your needs and a business succession plan to insure against the sale of the business to pay Uncle Sam estate taxes. In addition to practicing law, Dawn enjoys riding her Harley Davidson over the Highway of Legends, flying helicopters at Colorado Vertical flight school in Colorado Springs, and racing her 1967 Chevelle at Pueblo Motorsports Park.