Estate Planning

What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is the process where a person, single or married, gets all of their affairs in order so that when they die, or they lose the capacity to manage their finances, they know who will be in charge of distributing or managing their assets. Estate planning also takes into consideration other types of decisions such as who will make medical decisions for a person if they lose capacity to make medical decisions for themselves. Estate planning answer the important decisions a person needs to make.

For example:

• Who do you want to receive your ASSETS when you die?
• Does a loved one have SPECIAL NEEDSfor which you want to provide?
• Who do you want to manage your FINANCES if you, or your spouse, lose the capacity to manage your finances on your own?
• Who do should you TRUST to manage your finances?
• Who do you want to make MEDICAL DECISIONSfor you if you are not able to make them yourself?
• Do you want to have PAIN MEDICATIONto keep you comfortable in the event you cannot speak for yourself?
• What would you like for your FINAL ARRANGEMENTS — to be buried, cremated, or something more exciting like a party or scattering of your ashes at sea?

When we help you with an Estate plan, we help you answer these types of questions and many more.

How long does it take to do an estate plan?

Not long. Unless you have a very complicated estate, most plans can be completed in a matter of a few weeks, or much sooner in emergencies. We know what to ask and we help you through the process step by step. If you can help it, don’t wait until you have an emergency. It is much harder to do an estate plan if you wait until you may not have capacity or soundness of mind.

What is included in an estate plan?

Our estate plans are complete and include all of these legal documents:

• A Will — you need to have a special type of Will called a “Pour Over Will”. This document works with the next document called a “Trust”.
• A Revocable Living Trust — this is the document where you state where you want your property to go upon your demise. Your Trust is the most important document in your plan because it is the central document that keeps your estate private and saves your loved ones the expense of probate.
• A Power of Attorney — this is a legal document where you state who will manage your finances and pay your bills in the event you, or your spouse, does not have the capacity to manage them on your own.
• An Advanced Health Care Directive — this is a set of legal documents that give your loved ones directions on medical decisions and if you want to be given pain medication to remain comfortable in certain situations where you cannot consent on your own.
• There are a few other documents that are included in a good estate plan but we handle all of those for you and simply explain what each of them do for you. Our goal at the end of the process is for you to have peace of mind.