Wills

A will is a legal document wherein you can state who should receive your property at the time of your death, the beneficiaries, and who should be in charge of managing your property at the time of your death. Your will can also state that the personal representative may serve without bond, meaning that they will not need to obtain a bond to secure the performance of their duties. As stated above, the will, will need to be presented to the state court for probate in order to transfer the title of the assets from the deceased individual to the beneficiaries.  Brace W. Luquire, Attorney at Law, counsels with you to help guide you through the complexities of making a will.  A will is almost always necessary to ease the problems of probate and to direct how you wish your estate be divided.

In addition to the will, you should have a document referred to as a Power of Attorney. A Power of Attorney allows you to name an individual, called your Attorney-in-Fact, to step into your shoes to make financial decisions on your behalf. This power should only be given to an individual in whom you have an extremely high trust level. Most people intend for the Power of Attorney to be used only in the event of their disability or incompetency, however, since the individual can legally act on your behalf, you should be very careful in choosing this person. A Power of Attorney is valid only while you are alive and at your death can no longer be used to manage your affairs.

You should also consider having a document referred to as an Advance Directive for Healthcare because your Attorney-in-Fact under your Power of Attorney cannot act as your health care agent.  An Advance Directive for Healthcare allows you to express your wishes for the health care you want to receive at the end of your life by appointing an individual as your Health Care Agent to make health care decisions for you when you cannot speak for yourself and stating your preferences for the medical treatments you do or do not want to receive.

Contact us to discuss your family's estate planning needs. We can help you determine the best way to make your wishes known and to protect you in the event of disability, incompetency or medical tragedy.