Attorneys providing free wills to the police, fire fighters and EMTs

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Lawyers based in Wisconsin are starting to provide free estate planning for the people who serve in police, fire fighting and other emergency response teams. This is all part of their national “Wills for Heroes” program to which the State Bar Association just joined.

The program offers legal help in the writing legal living wills as well as offering services in the area of power-of-attorney privileges for the persons health and financial related matters.

The actual foundation called “Wills for Heroes Foundation” has initiated or started the official national based program after the terrorist attacks that occured on September 11 ‘th in 2001. The program sounds like a great initiative that will help those in the need that are fighting every day in the front lines.

Tags: free wills, legal wills, power of attorney, Wills for Heroes
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Ensure your Preferred Medical Care

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

The main problem with estate plans today is that they don’t have any documents for health care.  Another serious problem is that they don’t understand the documents they have, or worse, they have the wrong documents.  Here are some documents you need to make sure that your wishes are followed:

• *Living Will - very simple to execute as most states recognize living wills officially.  The idea behind this is to avoid certain levels or types of care (also known as “heroic measures”) in different circumstances.  A very simple living will would state “I don’t want to prolong my life through any artificial means if I contracted a terminal illness with no hope for recovery.”  Although following this statement may result to a debate (since there is no exact definition of a terminal illness), it’s still necessary to guide your relatives on what to do when you’re brain dead or in a vegetative state.
• *Do not hospitalize/resuscitate order - DNH and DNR orders are common for older people in frail conditions, most especially those in nursing homes.  These people preferred to be in the comfort of their homes rather than pass away in a hospital.
• *Power of attorney/health care proxy - a document that appoints a person or several people to make the medical decisions when they’re unable to do so.

Tags: DNH, DNR, documents, health care, health-care proxy, living will, plans, power of attorney
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President Barack Obama Recommends a Living Will

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Recently, President Barack Obama urged all Americans to prepare a living will.  These wills allow people to specifically give instructions if they become incapacitated or ill to make health decisions.  The President mentioned his own family for an example.  He said that he and Michelle Obama (First Lady) have living wills as well as his grandmother who recently died (last November).  In a health care online forum sponsored by AARP, he said “You wouldn’t want somebody else to make those decisions for you.  Therefore, I’d encourage everyone to have their own living will.”

To get one, you can obtain forms from hospitals.  Also, there’s a program of National Hospice Palliative Care Organization called Caring Connections that’s focused on improvement of end-of-life care.  They offer free downloads of living will form or advance directive at its web site for each state.

Common mistakes that people make in their living will is the failure to update it if it’s done years ago, failure to update when they change states, and not getting power of attorney for health care.  When you go to a lawyer, he or she can give you helpful advice, teach you about medical issues arising from it, or warn you about what will happen when you don’t have one.   

Tags: AARP, attorney, Barack Obama, Caring Connections, health care, living will, medical issues, Michelle Obama, mistakes, National Hospice Palliative Care Organization, power of attorney, President, Wills
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Are there Expiration Dates for Estate Plans?

Monday, July 27th, 2009

There is no expiration for estate plans.  However, major life events should prompt you to review your plan and make sure that your wishes are still enforced.  Examples of these common life events include purchase of a home, death of a loved one, birth of a child, divorce, or marriage.

If you’re married, there are certain considerations that you should think about in creating an estate plan.  First, you would need revision of your trust to include your existing spouse.  Also, you may acquire a power of attorney for managing your finances if ever you’re incapacitated or unable to manage any of your financial affairs.  Therefore, a well-rounded estate plan must include a power of attorney for health care which appoints a trusted individual (typically your spouse) to make medical decisions if you’re unable to do so yourself.

While for remarriage, you need to revise your will or trust immediately.  Any gift to your ex-spouse may not be valid.  So how will the court decide who to give it to?  Therefore, you should make this change yourself so that you’re sure to carry out your wishes when you pass away.  Same goes to your children.  Appointing a guardian for the minor ones would protect them even when you’re gone.

Tags: attorney, estate plans, expiration, married, power of attorney, remarriage, trust, will
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Five Key Estate Planning Documents

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Avoiding the creation of an estate plan may be due to dismissal of subjects such as taxes, incapacity, and death.  However, the fact still remains that you need to protect your wealth and your loved ones when you’re gone.  So here are five documents that you need to have while you’re still active:

*Will - these are simple instructions to distribute your assets to the beneficiaries after death.  You need to appoint an executor who will designate your assets, while you need to designate a guardian for minor children.

*Durable Power of Attorney (POA) - power of attorney is simply a legal document that will name another person who will act legally on your behalf.  A regular POA terminates upon a person’s disability or death.  However a durable POA will continue beyond disability and will only terminate upon death.

*Health Care POA - same as durable POA but it will authorize someone to decide for you in medical situations in case you’re unable to do so.

*Living Will - expresses your intentions for use of life-sustaining measures in a terminal illness.

*Revocable Living Trust - a type of trust that is often used in estate plans.  When you transfer assets to a revocable trust, your beneficiaries will receive the income or principal according to the terms of the trust.

Creating an estate plan will not be an overwhelming task if you work with experienced professionals such as a CPA, financial advisor, and an attorney,

Tags: attorney, death, estate plan, legal, power of attorney, revocable living trust, wealth, will
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Estate Planning Aided by Key Documents

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Tenise Owens, Troy Bank’s trust officer was a keynote speaker at Healthy Woman seminar.  She said, “Everyone over 19 years old should have a will.  Advanced medical directives, a will with instruction letter, and a strong power of attorney are the key documents needed by each person before the need arises.”

She further revealed that, “The state will be very happy to distribute the money for you if you don’t have a will.”  She calls estate planning as the people’s “financial health” and outlined the pros and cons of having a durable power of attorney.  “We highly recommend that people go to their own attorneys and draw up their will.  You would definitely want someone standing behind you if people will challenge your will.  Therefore, downloading a will from the internet just won’t do,” she revealed.

Powers of attorney may be changed.  She urged the group in keeping the financial institution informed of the revisions.  She shared “We keep the copies of powers of attorney on file - we consider it a binding document unless we’re otherwise notified.”

When someone dies, many people typically go to financial institutions and expect to transact their business with a power of attorney.  However, she said, “A power of attorney would become null and void after a person’s death.  That’s when a ‘will’ would come into play.”

Tags: attorneys, Estate Planning, Healthy Woman seminar, power of attorney, Tenise Owens, Troy Bank, trust officer, will
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What is Estate Planning?

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

It’s important to have an “estate plan” in place no matter how much your net worth is.  Such plan will ensure that your financial goals are met and your family gets your assets after you pass away.

Several elements of an estate plan include: a will, living will or a health-care proxy (sometimes called medical power of attorney), and power of attorney assignment.  For some people, it would also make sense to have a “trust.”  However, you have to be mindful of both state and federal laws governing estates.  That is why it’s important to consult an attorney for your estate planning.

A good place to start is to take inventory of your assets.  These consist of your business interests, real estate properties, insurance policies, retirement savings, and other investments.  Answer these three questions?

1. 1. Who will inherit your assets?
2. 2. If ever you’re incapacitated, who do you want to handle your financial affairs?
3. 3. If you’re unable to make decisions yourself, who do you want to make medical decisions for you?

Remember that everybody needs an estate plan and it’s not just for the wealthy.  Inheritance can sometimes be a loaded issue.  So by being clear on your intentions, you can help dispel potential conflicts when you’re gone.

Tags: assets, attorney, estate plan, health-care proxy, inheritance, laws, living will, power of attorney, trust, will
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