LAST WILLS & TRUST/HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVES
DO YOU REALLY NEED A LAST WILL & TESTAMENT? You have been married to the same person for 25 years and your children are grown. Neither you nor your spouse ever got around to preparing that Last Will and Testament you always talked about. However, with the exception of certain specific gifts to particular people, you both intend to leave everything to each other anyway, so does it matter? Assuming both you and your spouse are respectful of each other’s wishes about those specific gifts, you need not worry – Indiana’s intestate succession law will take care of you. However, the more prudent course would be to take steps to ensure that those gifts are indeed made, either during your life or via a simple Last Will document.
Many people have more complicated final wishes about the distribution of their property after their passing, in which case the intestate succession law will thwart such wishes without a properly drafted and executed Last Will and Testament. If you are among the more fortunate few whose net worth exceeds $5 Million, you are not like reading this – you will have probably enlisted the aid of an estate planning attorney and made arrangements to take advantage of the myriad of techniques to maximize and preserve your wealth for your future generations. However, a far simpler and less costly plan might be of benefit to you in the event you are of modest means yet want to make particular gifts of money and/or property to friends and loved ones. I have been performing these services for clients for many of my 25 years as an attorney. And if your net worth places you in the fortunate class of people with a net worth over $5 Million who need more sophisticated, specialize estate planning, I know the attorneys who are qualified to assist you – that is pretty much all they do.
DOES A TRUST REALLY AVOID PROBATE? I would also be happy to discuss whether a trust may or may not be something you want to consider. It has been my experience that many people view trusts as a way to avoid the dreaded probate process – this unfortunately was in vogue as a sales pitch by some attorneys to sell such services to clients. Most of the times I have encountered such trusts prepared by others, they did not accomplish that result because property remained owned outside the trust anyways – it was not fully funded. This does not mean a trust is not a good idea for you, but the reasons to consider a trust are not primarily to “avoid probate,” in my opinion. Ask me about trusts – I will be happy to discuss this with you at no charge for the initial consultation.
HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVES AND LIVING WILLS. While you are considering whether you and perhaps your spouse might want a Last Will and maybe a trust, you may also think about whether your health care wishes are properly and effective communicated to those who will make decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated. I have assisted many of my clients with their health care directives and so-called “living wills” and health care representative powers of attorney for years. Feel free to ask me about these important tools.
CALL FOR A FREE CONSULTATION ABOUT YOUR FINAL WISHES. If you have any doubt about whether a Last Will & Testament, a Trust and/or health care documents might be important tools to accomplish your final wishes, please call for a free consultation. We can discuss this at no charge in the privacy and comfort of your home if you wish, or over the phone, to see if it makes sense for you to engage an attorney to assist you with these issues. You will learn something in the process, whether you retain me or not. Please remember that making this preliminary contact will not in itself create an attorney client relationship although anything you discuss or share during that call or visit will be treated as and remain confidential.