During an initial consultation, I always am over prepared for the questions clients may ask. Though I don’t mind having to get back to a client on an issue that needs further research, I like the idea of having the answers to those complicated questions. During one such initial consult, I was in the middle of a rousing explanation of how the client could use the trust to provide for her minor children, when she stopped me with a raised hand. I was surprised by the gesture that snapped me back into my days of teaching. She asked plainly “what is a trust?” “Huh, what do you mean?” I thought. She contacted the Keo’vonne Wilson Legal, PLLC specifically to have a trust set up. When I asked her what she meant, she simply repeated the question. It was then that I realized she was there because she knew she needed estate planning but didn’t really know how an estate plan functioned.
Think about it, most of us have sat in a doctor’s office
while she explained that we had to take this medicine “thyroproxisylitoxide”
twice a day with a meal. We knew that the ridiculously named medicine would
help whatever ailed us, and we knew that the doctor was prescribing it in our
best interest, but did we really know what it did and how. What was this thing
that was good for us?
This post and the few following it will explain some of the
more common (and not so common) estate planning tools that we use at Keo’vonne
Wilson Legal, PLLC and and how they function.
I’ll abstain from most legalese and give a simple
explanation for each tool. If there is something missed (or still unclear) in
this series you really want explained, please contact Keo’vonne Wilson Legal,
PLLC at info@KeovonneWilsonLegal.com
and let us know.
A Good Place to Start
What is a Will?: A will is a document that disposes of your property when you die. That
is, it tells your personal representative (we
will talk about personal representatives below) what to do with your stuff.
Is that all it can do?: No! A will names your personal representative,
conservator, and or guardian. It can name the people or person you want to
raise young children should you pass away. It can contain your funeral
directions and provide for people who would normally not be entitled to your
property at your death, like stepchildren.
What are the things a will does not do?: A will does not tell the personal representative what
to do with assets governed by beneficiary designation and specifically titled
property. Theses assets are life insurance, retirement plans such as 401ks,
retirement accounts such as IRAs, Property titled as joint property with rights
of survivorship and employment death benefits.
Do you really need a will?
Yes you do. Everyone over the
age of 18 needs a will.
Why? Because stuff happens. We
like to think that we’ll live on to the ripe old age of 99, but the truth is a
lot of things can happen along the way. Wills don’t just plan for death, they
enable your loved ones to access your property if you are injured and or
disabled. A will also saves your family the trouble of trying to guess what
your wishes are. In the wake of a injury or death, families and loved ones have
a lot of unexpected emotional and financial issues to navigate. A will
eliminates the guesswork and even some heartache by providing guidance.
Ok so we’ve talked about
will, lets talk about some of the terms
you must know when discussing a will.
The First Is A Personal Representative.
What is a Personal Representative?: A personal representative is the person you choose
and name in your will to represent you upon death or incapacity. They act on
behalf of your estate and carry out your wishes.
How should I choose a PR? A personal representative should be someone you trust.
A safe default is your spouse. If you are not married, it should be someone who
is good with managing financial affairs and will respect your wishes.
Who should I avoid choosing? An example of a poor choice for a PR would be your
only daughter whom you love very much, but has a gambling problem, should not
be you Personal representative.
Does my personal representative have to handle every
aspect of my estate plan? When
setting up our estate plan you can choose different people to serve as personal
representative, healthcare power of attorney and financial power of attorney.
This is a handy option if you have a financially responsible a organized
personal representative who you know may be too emotional to respect your
healthcare wishes
Stay
tuned for a simple to understand explanation of Healthcare Power of Attorney,
Financial Power of Attorney and Do Not Resuscitate Orders (commonly called DNR).
If there is a term or explanation in this post that is still unclear please ask for clarification by posting your inquiry in the comments section or emailing us at Info@KeovonneWilsonLegal.com
Keo'vonne W.
"Turn Your Dream Into Your Legacy"
