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Many Lawyers Can Write a Will, but for Estate Planning, It’s Best to See a Specialist

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You wouldn’t expect your family practice physician to perform major surgery, nor would you attempt it yourself. The same is true when it comes to your estate. While the consequences are not as life-threatening, an inadequate estate plan can cause problems you won’t be able to fix.

Mistakes or omissions in your will can cause your heirs to end up contesting its provisions in prolonged, expensive, and public probate court—what you tried to avoid by making a will in the first place. Even if your will is not contested, the court is bound to follow the letter of the law in executing your wishes. If your stated wishes are vague, do not make sense, or the will has not been properly executed, your estate can remain in extended probate, using up your assets in legal fees.

As each person’s situation is unique and laws differ among states, an estate planning attorney guides you through these essential decisions to get your will right the first time.

  • Choose the appropriate Executor—Select the person who is the most capable of navigating the financial and legal requirements of probating an estate and who is willing to do it, not necessarily the person you are closest to.

 

  • Coordinate beneficiary designations—A well-crafted will specifies clearly who inherits your assets. It also works as a complement to the beneficiary designations on your insurance policies, retirement plans, and investment accounts, which supersede what’s in your will. If you neglect to name beneficiaries or you forget to update these when your circumstances change, an unintended person can end up with your assets.

 

  • Designate guardians for your minor children—Be sure the named guardians (and backups) are willing to take responsibility and are compatible with your children. It is important to avoid ambiguity and conflict among disagreeing relatives.

 

  • Determine whether you should set up a living trust—If you own real estate in multiple states or own your own business, it may be essential to avoid the additional costs and delays of formal probate proceedings.

 

  • Specify conditions for how your assets may be used—For example, you may require that your children reach a certain age or complete their education before they inherit their share of your assets. Your will or trust should contain specific instructions for making distributions on your children’s behalf.

 

  • Name a person to have financial power of attorney—The person that you name can make financial decisions for you during a period of incapacity. Without this power of attorney, your family may need to petition the court for a conservatorship—a much more expensive and time consuming process.

 

  • Put end-of-life and funeral decisions in the proper context— An estate planning attorney can prepare a separate advance directive for health care and funeral instructions to be given at the appropriate time to the agents you name to act on your behalf. Avoid putting these instructions only in your will. By the time your will is located and reviewed, it is often too late.

 

  • Don’t forget your pets—Provide for your pets through a trusted caretaker. Don’t leave money directly to pets. Your will or a pet trust ensures that a caretaker is named and sufficient funds are provided for your current and future pets’ care.

 

Brooks Mackintosh, Certified Estate Planner™, is an attorney at Mackintosh Law, LLC, in Decatur, Georgia.

 

Recipe for the Sandwich Generation: Power of Attorney, Living Trust, and Advance Directive for Health Care

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You’ve heard the terms, but what exactly do they do?

In the entertaining and poignant illustrated memoir “Can’t We Talk About Something More PLEASANT?,” author Roz Chast recounts her story of an only child dealing with the aging of her parents.

Her father was obsessed with finding the “bankbooks,” sure that bandits were poised to drain the couple’s bank accounts. Her mother said she didn’t want to become “a pulsating piece of protoplasm.”

To be generous, their ideas about health care and the state of their assets were in disarray. The parents knew what they wanted and didn’t want, but they were 93 before they put an estate plan in place to formalize their medical care instructions and protect their financial assets.

Whether you are 18, 93, or sandwiched between generations of your children and your parents, through essential legal documents you can appoint an agent to handle your financial affairs when you are not able to do so, and you can put in place a plan to provide for the needs of yourself and your dependents during a period of incapacity.

With a Power of Attorney, you name an agent who will make your business and financial decisions when you are unable to.

Along with this, you can set up a Living Trust that gives instructions on how you want your agent to handle your assets. You are the Trustee unless you become incapacitated, and then your alternate Trustee takes over and is bound by law to follow your instructions. Without this, the court may appoint a Conservator over your financial interests. More about court appointments below.

Through a Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care (formerly referred to as a Living Will) you can appoint an agent to make your health care decisions and state your wishes about end-of-life procedures should you become incapacitated. Without this directive in place, the people in your life could be required to petition the court to be appointed your Guardian.

A court hearing can be time-consuming, expensive, and is always public. Your appointed Conservator or Guardian may not have any idea about your choices and may be confronted by disagreeing family members, leading to additional court hearings. Meanwhile, your interests have been put on hold.

Roz Chast says she told her story to help others. If you have delayed making a plan, know that you are not alone and there is help readily available to get you through it. Then you can have peace of mind and talk about something more pleasant.