The court will appoint guardians for your minor children. The probate court may appoint a conservator to make decisions about your medical care if you are unable to do so. Without a valid plan all decisions about your estate will have to be approved through the probate court system.
- Who will be the executor of your Last Will
- Who will be the successor trustee after you if you draft a trust
- Who should be the Guardian for your minor children
- Who will make financial decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself
- Who will make health care decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself
- How you want your end of life medical care handled
- If you want to make any anatomical gifts at your death
- How you want your estate to be distributed at your death
What’s the difference between having a “Will” and a “Living Trust”?
A last will is a written document that states who you wish to be the guardians for
your minor children and how you would like your assets distributed at your death. The last will names an executor to facilitate the management of your assets during the probate process.
Trusts are a legal construct that allows you to create a separate legal entity to hold your assets. A trustee is named who manages the assets for the benefit of you
and your beneficiaries. Revocable living trusts are created and funded during your lifetime and you often name yourself as trustee to maintain control of the assets until your death or incapacity. A testamentary trust is created after your death by a provision in your will. Trusts are very flexible and there are many different types. The type of trust used is dependent on your specific goals and circumstances. A Living Trust offers protection should you become incapacitated by allowing your successor trustee to manage your assets without interruption. Please note that even with a Living Trust you should still have a will known as a “pour-over” will. These wills make sure that any assets, which may not be in your Living Trust at the time of your death, “pour-over” into the trust. Your Trust Package will include all of the necessary estate planning documents including a “pour-over will”.
If I set up a Living Trust, can I be my own trustee?
Yes. In fact, most people who create Living Trusts act as their own trustee. If you are married, you and your spouse can act as co-trustees. During your life, you will have complete control over all of the assets in your trust. In the event of your incapacity your hand-picked successor trustee assumes control over your affairs.
documents for a “Non-traditional Couple”.
at the first death if a proper estate plan is not in place. Depending on the size of the estate, it may be necessary to have your Living Trust set up as a “Qualified
Domestic Trust” to avoid the payment of any taxes at the first death. The program will create the appropriate trust for you based on the information you provide.
This program is designed to make the building of a basic estate plan as easy and economical as possible. Completing the online interview yourself allows you to work at your own pace, ask yourself the important questions and see the plan come together.
It also allows you to save on fees as we do not have to enter the data ourselves. Please follow the instructions below to begin and we will be in contact with you
as you proceed and when necessary.
- You will complete a Registration Form and then log-in information will be sent to you by e-mail so you can proceed, and so we can contact you if there are any changes in federal or state law which might affect your trust;
- You will login to the system and begin the interview process which will take you screen by screen through the context sensitive question and answer process. You can save your answers and come back at a later time to finish. At the conclusion of the interview, you will have provided all the necessary information to assemble a custom estate plan for your individual situation.