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Probate Law and Estate Planning

Durable Power of Attorney

A power of attorney is created, in part, by your grant of legal permission to another adult to act on your behalf. The permission can be granted for a specific, limited purpose and period of time or for much broader purposes (such as handling all of your financial affairs) and an unquantified period of time (such as until your death). The first type is called a "conventional power of attorney," and the second type is called a "durable power of attorney."

Health Care Proxy

A health care proxy is a person designated by you, whom you trust to make decisions about what medical treatment will be administered to you if you lose the ability to decide yourself. You can give the person as much or as little authority to make these decisions as you deem fit.

When would you want to give someone a power of attorney? If you are going on an extended vacation and there are financial transactions that will need to be completed during that time (for instance, buying or selling a house, closing a mortgage, or buying or selling stock), it might be convenient or necessary to have an "attorney in fact" who can complete those transactions for you. Similar reasoning applies if you know you will be away on military duty. Another important use for a power of attorney is if you become incapacitated, you will have established someone who can legally act on your behalf. Establishing a power of attorney in advance allows you to plan for who will be making decisions that affect your legal, financial, and/or medical well-being.

Living Will

A living will (also known as a health care directive) is a document that expresses your desires regarding life-prolonging medical treatment. It tells your doctors and family what your choices are with respect to the use of life support systems in the event you develop an incurable or irreversible condition that prevents you from living a meaningful life. It will permit your desires to be followed when you are unable to make decisions yourself.

Trust

In simple terms, a trust is a relationship in which a person, called a trustor, transfers something of value, called an asset, to another person, called a trustee. The trustee then manages and controls this asset for the benefit of a third person, called a beneficiary. An asset is any kind of property. There are any number of trust instruments that can assist you in managing your assets and reducing personal and financial liability during your lifetime as well as instruments that can be used in conjunction with a will to insure that all of your assets are properly distributed according to your wishes.

Will

A will is a legal declaration of how a person wishes his or her property to be distributed after their death. The proper drafting of this legal document can go a long way to reduce or eliminate confusion when loved ones are trying to probate the decedent's estate.