Will

A will is a legal document that records your wishes for the distribution of your property following death. With a properly executed will, you can leave instructions that identify who is to receive all or portions of your property. 
 
If a person dies without a will, he or she is said to have died “intestate” and the laws of the state control the distribution of assets. Because those laws might differ from your wishes, I encourage you to draft a will to ensure that your desires are known.

A will is also vitally important to parents of minor children. With a will, you can designate who will care for your minor children in the event of your death. Without a will in place to provide such instruction, a judge will have to decide who will care for any minor children if the need ever arises. 

 

Durable Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that grants a trusted person the authority to act on your behalf. A Power of Attorney that is “Durable” continues to be effective if you ever become incapacitated and are unable to make legal or financial decisions for yourself.  

 

Without a Durable Power of Attorney, if you become incapacitated and cannot act on your own behalf, no one is legally authorized to make important decisions for you.  In such a case, your family or loved ones may have to ask a judge to appoint a guardian to make legal decisions for you. To handle your financial affairs, the court may appoint a conservator to act as custodian of your property. Court proceedings to appoint guardians and conservators can be expensive and time consuming for your family.

 

With a comprehensive Durable Power of Attorney in place before it is needed, you can ensure that a person you know and trust will be have the power to act on your behalf when you need help. 

 

Trusts

A Trust is a legal entity, separate and distinct from the individual who created or funded it. With a trust, assets can be set aside with general or detailed instructions for how the trust assets are to be used. The various types of trusts can be used to create a comprehensive estate plan.

Revocable Living Trusts are trusts that are created during the lifetime of the person creating the trust. The creator of a revocable trust, often called the Settlor or Grantor, can  make changes to the terms of the trust or even revoke the trust entirely during his or her lifetime.

With a Revocable Living Trust, a settlor can continue to manage his or her own financial affairs during life, and lay out specific instructions for the use of trust assets after the settlor's death. At the time of death, this type of trust becomes irrevocable and the successor trusteee must then manage or distribute the property held in the trust according to the settlor's stated instructios. Use of a Revocable Living Trust in this manner allows the successor trustee to act without the delay or cost of probating the estate.

Additionally, the settlor of a Revocable Living Trust can nominate a trusted person to step in as successor trustee if the settlor ever becomes incapacitated. The successor trustee can then use the assets in the trust on the Settlor's behalf without the delay and expense of seeking authority from the probate court. 

Trusts can be used for many purposes, including allocating assets to benefit  an individual or a group of people, or to set aside assets to reduce the size of an estate for estate tax planning purposes. 

Contact Attorney Russ Whynacht to discuss your situation and to determine what estate planning options are appropriate for you. 

 

 

 

 

Call to Schedule an appointment:

   

 508-999-1902

 

 

 

office@whynachtlaw.com

Please do not e-mail confidential information

 

 

 

Russell Whynacht

Attorney at Law

414 County Street

New Bedford MA 02740