Estate Planning

If you don’t plan your estate now, a court, instead of you, may be making some critical decisions for you and your family.  These decisions include more than just planning for your death. A good estate plan encompasses planning for a person while they are alive, as well as after death.  A good estate plan includes, but is not limited to:

• Making sure your assets go to the people you, instead of a court, designate;
• Saving gift, income, capital gains and estate taxes;
• Protecting your assets and your business from creditor claims and the claims of spouses from failed marriages-  and protecting your children from those same dangers when you pass your assets on to them;
• Protecting against administrative expenses and delays----  If you are incapacitated, without the proper plan in place, a court could order a conservator to be appointed to control your money, under the supervision of the court. When  you are deceased, your family may have to endure a probate in order to obtain legal title to your assets;
• Planning for a potential incapacity and how both you and your family will be cared for if that happens;
• Making sure you choose who will take care of your minor children if you die or become incapacitated;
• Choosing who will make medical and financial decisions for you if you become incapacitated;
• Electing whether you want to be kept alive on life support, if you are in a permanent vegetative state or terminal with no hope of recovery;
• Making sure HIPAA does not sabotage your estate plan and land your family in court if you become incapacitated; and
• Making sure HIPAA does not prevent your family from being able to discuss your condition with your doctors or other medical professionals if you are unconscious. 

Even if you have an estate plan, did you know that an incomplete or outdated plan could be worse than no plan at all? Lisa reviews many estate plans and finds the majority of them to be lacking - just like the one her grandmother had. She will be happy to review yours.