Comprehensive estate planning that protects your assets and your family
The Law Office of Julie Low specializes in estate planning using a comprehensive step-by-step process to ensure all your wishes, needs, assets, and aspects of your life are addressed, and your plan is designed to work when you need it most. We focus on helping you get everything in order so you can have peace of mind.
Why you need an Estate Plan
Estate planning is essential for everyone, regardless of how many assets they have. By creating an estate plan, you ensure that your wishes for managing and distributing your property are carried out after you pass away. Your estate also avoids probate, a public, court-supervised process that can be expensive and tie up assets for a prolonged period before beneficiaries can receive them.
By failing to make proper legal arrangements for your assets and affairs after your passing, the state’s intestacy laws will take effect when you die (or become incapacitated), often resulting in the wrong people receiving your assets and higher estate taxes. Even worse, failing to outline your intentions through proper estate planning can tear your family apart as each person maneuvers to be appointed with the authority to manage your affairs. It is not unusual for bitter family feuds to ensue over modest sums of money or a family heirloom.
What the estate plan involves
A proper estate plan includes strategies to minimize potential estate taxes and settlement costs and to coordinate what would happen to everything you own: your home and other real estate, investments, retirement accounts, business, employee benefits (such as a 401K plan), life insurance, and other property in the event of death or disability.
On the personal side, a good estate plan should include your instructions and wishes regarding health care, so that if you are ever unable to give them yourself, someone you know and trust can do so for you.
A comprehensive estate plan should include the following documents, prepared by an attorney after in-depth counseling that takes into account your family and financial situation:
- A Living Trust can hold legal title to your property and provide a mechanism to manage it. Unlike a will, a trust usually becomes effective immediately upon incapacity or death. Your Living Trust is “revocable,” which allows you to make changes and even terminate it.
- A Will, also known as a Last Will and Testament, is primarily designed to transfer your assets according to your wishes. A Will also typically names an Executor, the person you designate to carry out your instructions. If you have minor children, you should also name a Guardian and one or more alternate Guardians in case your first choice is unable or unwilling to serve. A Will only becomes effective upon your death and after it is admitted to probate by a probate court.
- A Durable Power of Attorney for Property allows you to manage your financial affairs in the event that you become disabled. Unless you have a properly drafted power of attorney, it may be necessary to apply to a court to have a guardian or conservator appointed to make decisions for you during a period of incapacitation. Appointing a power of attorney ensures that your wishes are carried out exactly as you want them, allows you to decide who will make decisions for you, and takes effect immediately upon subsequent disability.
- A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care or Health Care Proxy allows you to designate someone you trust to make health care decisions if you lose the ability to do so for yourself. You can authorize your health care agent to make decisions about all health care or only certain treatments. You may also give your agent instructions to follow. Your agent can then ensure that health care professionals follow your wishes. Hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers must follow your agent’s decisions as if they were your own.
- A Living Will informs others of your preferred medical treatment should you become permanently unconscious, terminally ill, or otherwise unable to make or communicate treatment decisions. In conjunction with other estate planning tools, it can provide peace of mind and security, avoiding unnecessary expense and delay in the event of future incapacity.
- A HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) authorization form should be signed by you, allowing the release of medical information to your agents, your successor trustees, your family, and other people you designate.
Estate planning is a complex process, so we understand if you have many questions. Please check out our FAQs, review our estate planning process and contact us if you have further questions.