Estate-planning is an act of great kindness – it’s caring for your loved ones.
Sadly, I can’t take away the ‘yuck’ of estate-planning – but I have spent years working to make the process quicker and easier.
I’ll be your thoughtful shepherd.
Estate-planning is an act of great kindness.
It also involves thinking about death – so it’s understandable that people put it off.
I can’t make this fun – but I have spent years rethinking and refining the process of estate-planning – to make it quicker and less awful.
Because here’s the thing, my goal is for you to get this done – for you to have signed documents – for you to sleep better.
I’m here to shepherd your process – to help answer your questions – to take your wishes and turn them into understandable documents.
Together, we’ll get it done. I’m ready when you are.
We will create custom documents to perfectly match your wishes and circumstances.
My Comprehensive Package includes:
- Last Will and Testament,
- Living Trust,
- Health Care Directive,
- Durable Power of Attorney, and
- And ongoing support as we move assets into your Living Trust.y
Some clients don’t need all of those documents – so I’ll create the ones you do need.
Sometimes budgets don’t let us do everything at once – then I’ll take a page from the wonderful mechanic who keeps my 2013 Avalon running smoothly: (a) What’s the budget? (b) Let’s focus on these immediate needs, and (c) Here’s the long-term plan to get everything done.
Some additional details (click “+” to expand)
Your Will acts as your last testimony after you’ve died.
Your Will might name guardians for your young children and/or your pets. It can create trusts for those children (to make sure the kids don’t inherit everything at age 18).
Your Will also contains plans for how your belongings and assets should be distributed.
(Your Will can also disinherit people.)
In the Comprehensive Plan we supplement your Will with a special form of trust called a “revocable living trust” (aka, the “Living Trust”).
We use the Living Trust to avoid probate. If you’ve dealt with a lengthy probate (maybe your parents or grandparents), you know too well that avoiding probate is a huge kindness to your loved ones.
There’s more to it (for example, after you sign the documents, then we arrange your assets with the Living Trust – that’s what allows you to sidestep probate) – but we’ll discuss that later.
The Health Care Directive serves two purposes: (1) naming a health care agent who makes decisions for you and communicates with your care team, and/or (2) providing health care instructions (primarily end-of-life items like assisted breathing and use of a feeding tube).
Should the need arise, the Health Care Directive is an incredibly important document – ensuring your care matches your wishes – and providing peace of mind to that person you chose to act a your behalf.
The Durable Power of Attorney nominates a person to handle non-medical issues for you.
This document serves as a catch-all. If money needs to be withdrawn, tuition paid, property sold, etc. – we don’t know what the future holds, so this document is expansive and flexible.
Probate is a judicial procedure used to resolve estates. It involves a judge, lawyers, serving notice on interested parties – and so you can imagine how this adds up to time and expense.
Probate can eat up 2-4% of the total value of your estate (depending on your particular circumstances) – and we can avoid that expense by using a Living Trust.
For clients who choose the Comprehensive Plan, we do your estate-planning in two phases.
Phase 1 is when we create your documents. We talk about your wishes – and then I turn those into your estate-planning documents. Then you sign.
Phase 2 focuses on the Living Trust and avoiding probate. We meet again, this time just focusing on your assets and the steps each kind of asset needs to work with the Living Trust.