No estate plan is complete without 3 documents:

The Will, the Enduring Power of Attorney, and the Personal Directive.

 

The Will only takes effect after death. So what happens when someone is incapacitated and can’t make decisions for themselves? That’s where the Enduring Power of Attorney and the Personal Directive come in. An Enduring Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person to make decisions on your behalf about your finances and your property. The Personal Directive allows you to appoint a person to make decisions on your behalf about health care decisions and other personal matters.

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One common misconception about estate planning is that it's only important for those who have a lot of money or real estate. This is simply not true. Estate planning covers a diverse range of topics such as: who makes the decision to take a person off life support, who hold money in trust for minor children or grandchildren, who will be appointed to be guardians of minor children, who will make funeral arrangements and control what happens with your remains, who will file taxes on your behalf, and who will deal with a property manager to obtain your personal belongings and clear out any apartment you are renting.

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Family dynamics can be tricky to navigate and oftentimes clients may be inclined to put off their estate planning because they cannot decide what to do. Whether it is because a potential beneficiary has money problems or an addiction, or whether the client feels guilty about naming one family member over another to be the Personal Representative, we are here to help navigate those difficult decisions with you and come up with options to help you move forward. More often than not, simple solutions can be achieved, but it all starts by making the choice to talk to a lawyer about your estate plan.

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