Estate planning covers several major areas: where your stuff goes when you die, who should be the guardian for your minor children, and who can make financial and health decisions for you if you can’t anymore. Planning for these things ahead of time can help your family avoid expensive guardianship litigation, fights over your assets, and lengthy probate court cases later. Learn more about estate planning here.
We actually like DIY sites like Legal Zoom at Generation Law, because we get more work fixing the expensive legal problems these services cause for clients. But you probably don’t want that, right? Online wills and powers of attorney may not take your unique situation into account, and can leave you and your family unprotected when it matters.
For example, we had a client who used a $6 online power of attorney form for her husband, only to discover it was invalid after her husband was incapacitated. The guardianship procedure ended up costing her more than $15,000. Don’t let this happen to you – planning now will give you peace of mind later.
Even if you have a will, it doesn’t cover certain types of assets, including those held in joint tenancy (like a home) or with a beneficiary (like a life insurance policy). Talk to us about your options – we can help you and your spouse set up the right plan to make sure your stuff goes where you intended.
Estate planning should also include setting up powers of attorney, which allows your spouse or other trusted family member to make financial and healthcare decisions for you if you can’t. Getting these now is much cheaper and easier than dealing with a potential guardianship later. Learn more about powers of attorney here.