Wills, Trusts &
Estates
Estate planning services including revocable living trusts, last wills and testaments, probate and trust administration.
Estate Planning involves planning for life and for death. While you are living, you need to assure that people you trust are authorized to manage your financial affairs and who can enforce your healthcare wishes if you suffer a health crisis and you are temporarily or permanently unable to take care of yourself. At the end of your life, you need to make sure that the right people or charities inherit your wealth, that disabled or young beneficiaries are taken care of, and that everything happens as seamlessly as possible. Making these decisions is not always easy, but it will give you peace of mind.
During Life: Financial Power of Attorney & Advance Health Care Directive
To make sure you have the right people in place to take care of you during a crisis, we use a Power of Attorney for wealth management and an Advance Healthcare Directive for medical care.
Power of Attorney
- You authorize trusted individuals, or “agents,” to manage your wealth on your behalf.
- Your agent will be able to use your money to pay your bills and take care of finances.
- The Power of Attorney will not stop you from being able to manage your financial affairs.
- Usually, your agent cannot step-in until your doctor confirms that you are unable to manage your own assets. You can also choose to give your agent immediate authority so they can begin helping you right away without waiting for your doctor’s approval.
- This is almost always a better option than making someone joint on your bank account.
Advance Healthcare Directive
- You pre-make decisions about how you want to be treated in a healthcare environment.
- You name agents that you trust to make sure your healthcare wishes are followed.
- You indicate the type of memorial services you want.
- By pre-making these decisions, you relieve your agents and family of the burden of making these decisions themselves.
