ESTATE PLANNING
By having an estate plan, no matter how simple or complex, you are giving your family a gift – the gift of certainty about your wishes and a private way to handle your affairs legally.
Waiting until you're older or when you get sick, is not the answer. You may not have the legal capacity to sign documents at that time and it opens the door for others to question the validity of your judgment or claim you were manipulated or perhaps even being manipulated. This can lead to a Probate Court case with a Judge deciding your matter, as well as family conflict.
Trust / Wills
A Trust is a legal document that allows you to make decisions, keep your personal matters private, avoid probate and is flexible enough to cover all phases of your lifetime and after your death.
A Will is more limited document as it only applies after your death. When you have a Will, it must be probated with the Probate Court so your wishes can be carried out.
Estate Plan Reviews
One thing is certain – nothing stays the same. This firm will review your current plan and help you make changes or provide updates. You should review your plan periodically and upon any major life event.
Durable Power of Attorney
You may wish to grant power of attorney (POA) to a family member or representative for a variety of reasons. It can be effective immediately, upon your incapacity or other triggering event. It can be a general or a specific transaction (like filing taxes or selling real estate). If you become incapacitated and do not have a POA, your family will have to file a case in the Probate Court to name a Conservator or Guardian for you and the Probate Judge will appoint someone. (See Probate Section).
Patient Advocate and Living Will
If you have beliefs about life support, end of life decisions or types of medical care you should receive, express those in a Patient Advocate and Living Will. The Patient Advocate makes medical decisions if you cannot. The Living Will is the document that specifies whether you want to be on life support. They are usually prepared as one document, but can be separate.
Veterans
If you are using the VA system, other forms are required for the patient advocate and if you only have the VA designation and end up at a regular hospital for emergent care, the VA document is not sufficient for your family or advocate to act on your behalf.
Mental Health
If you experienced the mental health system or cared for a loved one, it can be daunting indeed. Make it easier with the proper documents.
Pet Care and Ownership – Trusts and Power of Attorney
If you have animals, they will need to be looked after and cared for. Our pets hold a special place in our lives. We can plan for them in your trust or a limited power of attorney.
Digital Assets and your Internet Footprint
What happens to our email, our Amazon accounts, our social memberships or social media? Who do you want to sift through your life online? Name someone that can handle this responsibility. This can be done as a stand-alone document or as part of your other documents.
Other Planning Tools
Beneficiary designations are wonderful tool for the transfer of assets. They are not the only tool and any good plan considers using all tools available.
Lady Bird Deeds and survivorship deeds are another good tool for transfer of real estate upon your death, but there are limits to their use and effectiveness of which you should be aware.
The Law Office of Monica J Copeland will prepare a custom estate plan that works for your family that you can understand and use now and in the future.
Law Office of Monica J. Copeland
