Trusts & Estates

Having your affairs in order is more important than ever.  Using multiple tools, including enhanced durable powers of attorney, healthcare powers of attorney, living trusts, testamentary trusts, and wills, we can ensure that your estate is administered according to your wishes.  Whether your goals are taking care of a spouse or other loved ones, or donating to a charity, we can help you make sure your goals come to fruition.

A Durable POA and Healthcare POA are documents used by individuals to allow others to act in their place should they become incapacitated.  Without these documents in place, a Guardianship action will have to be filed in the court so that a Judge can make the decision as to who should handle your affairs.  This is more time consuming and expensive than having an attorney draft the appropriate documents ahead of time.  A well drafted POA will allow you to choose who will manage your affairs.  It will also allow them to make all appropriate transfers you need including those to apply for Medicaid or other government benefits later.

The Durable POA enables an individual to act in your place in all legal and financial matters.  This ranges from something as simple as writing a check to as complicated as buying or selling real estate or a company.  

The Healthcare POA allows a person to make decisions regarding your medical care when you become incapacitated.  This can occur for many reasons including an accident, stroke, or advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease or Dementia.  

A guardianship is a petition that is filed with a court.  When filing a guardianship, you are telling the court that an individual needs a guardian, due to an incapacity of some nature, and that you are willing to act for them since they are incapacitated.  A guardian has similar powers to a person acting as a POA when it comes to financial matters and medical decisions.  However, they need court approval in advance of major decisions.

Guardianships take longer to create than a POA, which is why they are not preferred in most circumstances.  They can be contested by other individuals that believe they would be a better guardian.  Because a judge will be making the final decision in a guardianship case, the person who ends up serving as guardian might not be the person you want to handle your affairs.  Also because of the time and court filing fees involved, they are more costly than executing a POA.

The passing of a loved one is a very trying and emotional experience for all involved.  Once someone dies, their estate must be administered so that all their debts are resolved, and their remaining property is transferred to named beneficiaries and heirs if they have a will or trust.  During this process, a personal representative or administrator will be named to oversee this process.  It is beneficial for that individual to be represented by an attorney during this process.  A skilled attorney can help ensure that everything is done properly because they will be familiar with the process.  If done improperly, a personal representative or administrator may open themselves up to lawsuits from other heirs, beneficiaries, or interested parties.