Estate Planning
Estate Planning covers many legal
documents and issues. Wills, advanced directives,
(living wills,) trusts, and power of attorney are
some of the documents you may need when doing estate
planning for yourself or for a loved one. Life
insurance is also something to consider. How much is
needed? Would a term policy be best, or some type of
whole life, or a mixture of both.
Advanced Directives (Living
Wills)
Advanced health care directives, or just advanced
directives, sometimes called living wills, are legal
documents which make your wishes known in the event
you become no longer able to make decisions or
communicate you desires due to illness or
incapacity. The need for these advanced directives
has arose because today about half of the people who
die are in a hospital or or other health care
facility under the care of doctors and health care
workers. Because of medical science's advancements,
life can be sustained even when there is no hope
whatsoever of any type of life for the patient. Many
people, for many reasons, simple do not want the
have their body kept technically alive in a
vegetated state or coma when there is no hope of
recovery. Read the
Advanced Directives page for more information
and to download an advanced directive, (living
will,) document.
Conservatorship - Guardianship
It might also be necessary to consider a
conservatorship or a guardianship. A conservator is
an adult individual who is selected to serve as a
fiduciary over the property of another. The other
person is usually incapacitated. A guardian is an
adult individual who has legal control of another
person, either an incapacitated person or a minor
child.
If you have manor children, you can, and should,
name a guardian for your minor children in your Last
Will and Testament in the event you and the other
parent die together.
In most states, conservatorships
and guardianships are handled through the Probate
Court of the county the incapacitated person or
minor child resides in. To initiate either you must
file with the Court the following documents:
Trusts
A trusts is a fiduciary
relationship in which a trustee holds legal title to
property subject to an equitable obligation to
protect or use the property for the benefit of a
beneficiary, who holds equitable title. the
separation of legal and equitable title is an
essential element of a trust and merger of the two
terminates the trust. Thus the sole trustee cannot
be the sole beneficiary. However, since multiple
trustees hold as joint tenants and multiple
beneficiaries take as tenants in common, the legal
and equitable interest will not merge even if the
same persons are joint trustees and the only
beneficiaries. Find out more about trusts at the
trusts page.
Wills
A Last Will and Testament conveys
all the property that is in a departed person's
probate estate that they own or that they have
interest in. To be enforceable, a Last Will and
Testament must be probated.
A will has no legal or binding
effect until the testator's, (the person writing the
will,) death, and then, not until the will is
probated. Because of this, a testator may change
their will at any time they wish, and for any
reason. More about Last Will and
Testaments. |