Affordable Estate Planning
Wills and Trusts
- A will is a document that dictates what happens to your assets after you die, but it must go through a probate process.
- A trust is a legal arrangement that holds assets during your life and after your death, and can be structured to avoid probate and offer more control and privacy.
Power of Attorney Directives
A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document that grants one person (the "agent" or "attorney-in-fact") the authority to act on behalf of another person (the "principal") in various matters, including financial, medical, and legal decisions. The authority granted can be broad or limited, depending on the type of POA.
Asset Transfers
Healthcare Directives
An advance health care directive lets your physician, family, and friends know your health care preferences, including the types of special treatment you want or don't want at the end of life, your desire for diagnostic testing, surgical procedures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and organ donation.
Healthcare Trustees will decide the medical intervention plan based on your intentions prior to drafting.
Trust Vs Last Will
What is a Trust?
A trust is an instrument designed to hold assets based on a stated plan called a Trust Agreement.
The advantages of a trust include faster administration when you pass, protection of family assets, avoiding probate court entirely, and privacy.
Think of a Trust as a legal vehicle to provide your family equity in your belongings during your life and after your passing. With generally less hassle (and costs) to convey assets.
What is a will?
A Will is a legal instrument that takes effect upon death, and is revocable until death, that either makes a disposition of property (real or personal), directs how property should be disposed, exercises a power of appointment, or appoints a fiduciary.
It allows you to appoint the person(s) that you want to administer your estate.
Through the terms of your Will, you can address the care of minor children by appointing guardian(s) of their persons and trustee(s) of their property.
Your Will is must be probated according to the laws of the state in which you are domiciled.
The state of your domicile determines whether estate or inheritance taxes will have to be paid. If you have real estate in different states, your Will may have to be probated in each state.
If the document is not valid, the entire purpose of the will may be for nothing.
Think of a Will as a dormant document that is activated when you pass and read by a probate Judge who administers your assets and liabilities based on that document.