Estate Planning
Everyone needs an estate plan. Sometimes you will hear experts say. “An estate plan may not be appropriate for some smaller estates.” This is absolutely false. Not everyone needs every option of an estate plan, but even an 18 year old needs a health care directive. A lot of the confusion comes from individuals, even experts, not understanding what an estate plan is. Our simple estate plan consists of the very basic an individual or couple should have to plan for their future. Almost every adult needs a will, power of attorney and a health care directive. Our firm offers these documents as a basic estate plan package.
Parents have some additional concerns about what will happen to their children if they become ill or pass away. Parents will want to consider adding a children’s trust and select guardians. These documents may be purchased individually, as a package or customized to any extent to meet your needs.
There are more techniques that can be used to plan for the division of your assets after you pass away. Some individuals are concerned about taxes, others are concerned that the younger generation will “waste” their inheritance and some have concerns about providing for a child with special needs. Our firm can help you with your needs.
Estate Planning for Veterans
Veterans acquire benefits for their service based on a variety of factors. Incorporating these benefits into an estate plan can save money and make many aspects of your plan more cost effective and easier for your family. Our firm was founded to assist veterans and servicemembers with their legal issues. We have the experience and knowledge to create estate plans for veterans.
Common Estate Planning Terms
Will – A will directs what is to happen to your real and personal property after your death. It gives you an opportunity while you are alive to make this determination.
Health Care Directive – A health care directive is simply a document that tells others what you want for your health care if you are unable to communicate with them. You can create your Health Care Directive in such a way that your family and health care providers can understand how you would decide various medical decisions if you were able to communicate with them. You can also use your health care directive to let your health care provider know what type of funeral you are planning to have in the event you pass away. This is important because how a body is treated after death depends on your religious, spiritual and moral beliefs. Additionally you can specify if you are an organ donor in your health care directive to alert the medical staff to this information.
Power of Attorney - A power of attorney is a document in which you state that you give someone else the authority to make certain decisions and act on your behalf. You do not give up your power to make your own decisions. A power of attorney IS NOT the same thing as a conservatorship. Some powers of attorneys only go into effect if you are incapacitated others are in effect the moment they are signed.
Assignment of Guardians – The majority of parents of young children do not have a guardian designated in the event of their untimely passing. At a time a child is already traumatized by the loss of a parent, the child will be subjected to the jurisdiction of the court to determine who will care for the children in the event of their death. By assigning guardians prior to a tragic event, it allows for the smooth transition of the care of the children during a time of trauma.
Standby Custodian – This is a planning tool for a parent who is chronically or terminally ill. The law allows the parent to designate a standby custodian who will step forward to care for any minor children when the ill parent is unable to. The legal parent does not give up their right to parent when the standby custodian authority is invoked.
Trust – A trust is a valuable estate planning tool. A trust is simply a device where you your property is managed by one person, a “trustee,” for the benefit of another, a “beneficiary.” There are various types of trust designed to accomplish different goals. Below is a description of some of the more common types of trusts.
Living Trust - (Inter vivos Trust, Revocable Living Trust) – These are trusts that are set up while you are still alive. They can be change and altered during your lifetime. Many people set up a living trust in order to avoid probate. This can be one advantage to setting up a living trust but it is not the sole reason one should consider before setting up the trust. Another benefit is additional protection in the onset of a mental disability. A trust can include a disability trustee who can manage the trust if the owner becomes completely incapacitated. Without this disability trustee, it would take a lengthy court process to appoint a conservator or guardian to oversee the owner’s assets.
Irrevocable Trust – An irrevocable trust cannot be changed or altered. There are some exceptions to this rule but when creating this type of trust it is best to assume it cannot be changed. Sometimes an irrevocable trust is created because an individual wants to protect the assets of the trust from taxes or creditors.
Special Needs Trust – This type of trust allows an individual to provide an inheritance for a person with a disability without disqualifying them for public assistance. This can be very important for a disabled individual who has received an inheritance, medical malpractice award or personal injury award. Special Needs Trusts are established with the funds that belong to the beneficiary of the trust.
Supplemental Needs Trust – These are a close kin to the Special Needs Trust. The big difference is, a Supplemental Needs Trust is funded with the assets of someone other than the person with the disability, (the beneficiary), or their spouse.
Cabin Trust – In Minnesota we treasure “goin’ up north to the cabin.” But what happens to the cabin when Mom and Dad pass away? Who gets the cabin? If the heirs decide to share the cabin how do bills get paid and who maintains the home? Most families want to keep the cabin and its lifetime of memories in the family but how does that work out? A cabin trust may be what your family needs to have the cabin make a smooth transition from one generation of ownership to the next.
Transfer on Death Deed (TODD) – This is used to transfer the title of real property after death without having to go through probate.
Start Planning for Your Future
There are things you can do without an attorney to plan for your future.
- Locate title to all property and vehicles.
- Create a list of all bank, investment and retirement account numbers.
- Create a list of all usernames and passwords for your online accounts, email accounts and social networking accounts.
- Find and organize any divorce or other legal paperwork.
- Find your will and other estate planning documents if you have them and have them reviewed by an attorney.
Estate planning is something that is frequently put off to do in the future. Stop and think, “What would happen to my family if something happened to me?”