Estate planning is often neglected. Unfortunately, not having an up to date Will, Power of Attorney, or other Estate Documents could result in serious financial and emotional consequences for you and your loved ones.
Last Will & Testament
Our office will provide you with a Wills Questionnaire to complete. This document will not only form the basis for your Will, but also provides your Executor (the person you delegate who deal with your Estate after you pass away) with a summary of all your assets, accounts, insurance policies, etc. We will assist you in filling out the form if necessary.
We will email you a copy of the Will prior to meeting for execution. The purpose of sending you the draft ahead of time is so you can actually sit down, take your time, review and ensure you are satisfied with the decisions you are making – after reviewing the document, you may rethink things and want changes you had not thought about before.
Once the draft Will is approved, we will schedule a meeting to sit down and discuss the terms together. If you are completely satisfied and confident of your decisions, we will execute the Will during the meeting. You will take the original Will and a copy of the Questionnaire with you and put somewhere safe, but make sure your Executor knows where it is. We will keep a copy in our files.
You may need a new Will in the future if what we call a “triggering event” happens, which make include the death of your spouse or someone else to whom you have bequeathed a portion of your Estate to, your children reach the age of majority and no longer require Guardianship, you get divorced, etc.
Probate
The majority of people will appoint a loved one to act as the Executor of their Estate. Once you pass away however, your Executor may have absolutely no idea on what do to and how to “Probate the Will”.
Our office is available to guide your Executor through the entire process. He/she can either appoint Diana Metlege to be the Proctor of the Estate, whereby she acts as the lawyer and handles the majority of the probate. Your Executor can also retain Diana to review documents and assist with certain aspects of disposing the Estate, and essentially provide guidance on the process and steps.
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is when you appoint someone to act and make decisions on your behalf, but you are still alive and are either mentally competent but not available to execute documentation, or are mentally incompetent and cannot make sound decisions on your own.
One instance where a Power of Attorney may be necessary but the person is still mentally competent is when one spouse travels frequently and the other spousing has to manage all of the family affairs, banking, re-mortgaging the home, etc.
An Enduring Power of Attorney is when you appoint someone to have decision making authority on your behalf when you are unable to make your own decisions. You execute the document when are you in a healthy state of mind and it becomes “Enduring” when you become mentally incompetent or are in state where you cannot communicate your wishes on your own.
Please contact our office if you have any questions or would like to obtain a Wills Questionnaire.