Practice Areas

Experienced Estate Planning, Probate, Real Estate and Personal Injury Lawyer

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Legal Representation

Providing personalized service, trustworthy counsel, the law firm of West & Associates, P.C. handles a wide range of legal services including:

Estate Planning: West & Associates, P.C. prepares individually tailored revocable and irrevocable trusts, last will and testament, powers of attorney, living wills, and guardianship agreements ensuring that clients' goals are carried out in times of illness and at the end of life.

Probate: Efficient, timely probate administration after death ensures that the process of distribution of assets to beneficiaries can be resolved quickly. Often, families are not aware of related matters that require attention. For example, a Pennsylvania estate tax return must be filed within nine months of the recorded date of death.

Wills: With a will, the assets of a person who dies in Pennsylvania will be distributed according to plan. Without a will, that plan is already dictated by State statute. In such a situation, the person is said to have died intestate. When there is a will, the person's assets will normally be distributed according to the decedent's wishes as specified in the will, not the State’s plan.

Trusts: We advise closely held businesses, families, and individuals on issues such as:

• Minimizing estate, gift, and other taxes
• Revocable trusts
• Irrevocable trusts
• Insurance trusts
• Special needs trusts
• Retirement and long-term care planning
• Providing for disabled individuals
• Administration of estates and trusts
• Guardianship

Powers of Attorney: West & Associates, P.C. Attorneys at Law will assist clients with preparing powers of attorney. Powers of attorney may be restricted for use only in specific situations (such as physical or mental incapacitation, or inaccessibility due to travel or imprisonment, for example), or they may be written to grant liberal authority to sign checks, buy or sell personal property, or in any other way act on behalf of another person.

Advance Directives: What do you believe will be acceptable in terms of quality of life if you become incapacitated, or as you approach death naturally or as a result of an illness or trauma? A living will (also known as a health care directive or advance directive) gives each person the opportunity to clarify wishes that family members may someday be asked to honor and enforce.

Real Estate Transactions: A reliable real estate lawyer provides assurance that commercial and residential property purchases, sales, and lease transactions are handled properly. Purchase agreements, titles, title insurance, real estate settlements, deeds, and leases are complex legal documents that are best interpreted by an experienced real estate attorney.

Real Estate Settlements: Discriminating lenders, buyers, sellers, and developers often prefer to work with lawyer-managed firms such as West & Associates, P.C. We help ensure that clients' rights and interests are protected through the process of real estate settlements or closings. Attorney Art West is a highly experienced real estate attorney, Pennsylvania Real Estate Broker, and Pennsylvania Title Insurance Agent.

For Sale By Owner (FSBO): West & Associates, P.C. assists home buyers and sellers who do not use real estate professionals, but rather are going through a for sale by owner transaction need our help. We can advise them of their legal rights during the home buying and selling process from sales agreements, financing, required disclosures, and settlement.

Personal Injury: With over twenty years of personal injury representation experience, West & Associates, P.C. provides comprehensive and compassionate service to clients and families whose lives have been drastically impacted by an injury caused by another individual or party. Some of the types of injury cases we handle include:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Nursing home abuse
• Brain and spinal cord injuries
• Wrongful death

To discuss your goals and aspirations regarding personal injury, estate planning and/or real estate law, contact an attorney at West & Associates, P.C. through this site or by phone at 1 (800) 738-2261.