Putting your legal affairs in order is one of the best gifts you can give to you and your family. Unfortunately, it is hard to predict if and when we might be incapacitated and not capable of handling our own affairs, including caring for our children, or if and when we cannot make medical decisions for ourselves.
At Quinn Law Centers, we’ll help you plan for the future and lessen the burden on your family through a wide range of comprehensive estate planning services.
Estate Planning
While commonly called “estate planning,” – putting your legal house in order is more than just having a will that says who gets your assets upon death. Certain documents apply to you while you are living and provide critical guidance to loved ones. Your essential legal documents should include:
A Simple Will or a Pour-Over Will with Revocable Trust
If you have children, your Will is where you specify any chosen Guardian(s). Depending on the complexity of the estate and assets – a simple Will may suffice. However, more frequently, a Pour-Over Will might be advisable in conjunction with a Revocable Trust.
One nice thing about estate planning is that it forces you to take inventory of your assets, including digital assets (like PayPal), and put in place an instruction system for your Executor to find and access everything including login and passcode information. You can also identify special tangible property such as art work or family heirlooms or items of jewelry and the like that you want to go to specific beneficiaries in the process.
A General Power of Attorney
This document appoints an individual, or a list of individuals, in order of priority, to handle your financial, legal, and general business affairs in the event of your incapacity or inability to otherwise act on your own behalf.
This can include paying bills, depositing checks, transferring assets, signing legal documents, etc. Many military personnel fully understand the utility of a General Power of Attorney when they need a spouse or other family member or friend to handle their affairs while deployed.
An Advanced Medical Directive and Living Will with Organ-Tissue Designation
These can be separate documents but are often combined. If you are incapacitated due to an accident or illness or if you undergoing a medical procedure during which you cannot make medical decisions for yourself, it is essential to designate in advance who will make medical decisions for you. The Advanced Medical Directive can now be registered in Virginia online at www.virginiaregistry.org.
This is very useful for medical providers to be able to look up your information since generally you would not have the document with you in the event of incapacity.
It also is essential to have a Living Will to specify at which point you no longer would want to be kept artificially alive and whether you want any of your organs or tissues donated to others or used for research. This typically is made part of the Advanced Medical Directive.
Burial Designation
In Virginia, another document often prepared is a Burial Designation. Whether included in your Living Will or a separate Burial Designation document, spelling out your life end plans in advance will give your loved ones more guidance should you pass away.
Estate Planning Other Considerations
If you do not have a will in place, your assets may not be distributed the way you want them to be after your death.
Although state laws provide some guidance about who can inherit when a person dies intestate (without a will), those laws often leave out domestic partners, step-children, and other family members.
In addition, proper estate planning will allow you to make specific bequests of items of great significance.
There are ways to avoid the court-supervised probate process. Consulting with an experienced estate-planning attorney can help you ensure that, upon death, your assets are protected from creditors, to the extent possible, and are distributed to your beneficiaries quickly, confidentially, and penalty-free.
Estate planning documents are not necessarily good forever! Major life changes often can drastically alter your wishes about your estate plan, or your intentions and perspective may change over time.
Once you have estate planning documents in place, our firm recommends reviewing them with an attorney at a minimum every five years.
Estate and Healthcare Planning FAQ
What are the disadvantages of dying without a will?
The main disadvantages are that you won’t be able to nominate the person who represents your estate, and you will have no say in how your assets/etc. are divided.
I’m not wealthy—do I still need estate/healthcare planning?
Estate and healthcare planning are not just for the wealthy. Your spouse and children will benefit should you become incapacitated or die. You’ll also get to determine who gets what regarding your assets.
What is “My Estate”?
Your estate can contain investment properties, houses, personal property, bank accounts, jewelry, securities, automobiles, etc.
What is “Power of Attorney”?
A power of attorney is a document that grants a person of your choosing the right to act as your attorney should you become incapacitated.