LIFE & ESTATE PLANNING
There are various estate planning tools that can effectively distribute your possessions the way you wish, help you avoid taxes, and handle other aspects related to your final arrangements. In addition, there are other documents which can help you put your healthcare wishes into writing so there is no mistake about what you want in the event of a personal disaster.
The fact that you are reading this means that you care about getting your affairs in order. So please keep reading and act upon what you read. As a law firm and business, we would be happy to handle your estate planning matters for you.
Revocable Living Trust
A Living Trust distributes property much the same way a Will does, but it accomplishes the distribution without probate court supervision or interference. Instead, a less expensive, less time-consuming, private process is used. The only technical difference is that the title to property is in the name of the Living Trust, and you, or you and your spouse, are the trustees. Because the property is not technically in your name when you pass on, it does not have to go through probate. Many Living Trusts also incorporate credit shelter provisions to maximize tax savings for your heirs.
Last Will and Testament
A Will is the most common document used for giving away possessions after death. This writing instructs a probate court on distributing your assets after all of your bills are paid. Which heirs get which items or what percentage of the estate, when it goes to them, and how taxes are handled are explained in a properly drafted Will. It can also include legally binding instructions on the desired type of funeral service and burial you want, list the people you want to administer your estate, name those you want to take custody of minor children, and outline any age restrictions on the people receiving bequests.
Living Will
A Living Will orders a doctor to use or not to use extreme life-saving measures, such as life-support, if you are in an irrecoverable coma or in a “persistent vegetative state.” In a typical Living Will, doctors are ordered either to withhold or administer life support and artificial nutrition. Because the Living Will was drafted, signed and notarized while the patient was conscious and of sound mind, doctors must follow the directives of a Living Will document. This not only allows you to make these important decisions ahead of time, but it also removes the burden of these difficult decisions from loved ones.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
A Healthcare Power of Attorney empowers someone else to make health decisions about treatment if you are incapacitated. This document covers instances where you are unconscious and a decision is needed regarding surgery or other treatment. Healthcare Power of Attorney documents compliment Living Wills in making sure your healthcare decisions are made by specific people you choose, in order, so doctors have specific people to turn to for a decision, but that final decision of withholding or giving life support is made by you in advance.
Financial Power of Attorney
A Durable Power of Attorney empowers someone else to handle financial and legal affairs for you while you are competent, after you become incompetent, or both. In many instances, these documents are used by married couples as a matter of convenience so that one spouse can close on a new home, change banking information, or many other matters. In other cases, it is essential for an elderly parent to give this power to a child to handle their affairs if they are losing competency or for non-married couples to handle routine affairs for the household.
Special Needs Clients
Parents of special needs children frequently go through life tackling difficult problems, handling each task “one day at a time.” However well-meaning the theory of taking things “one day at a time” is, it means most people focus solely on the present and they fail to plan for the future. Unfortunately, many parents of special needs children handle things one day at a time and fail to take necessary steps to provide for their children after they are gone.
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