Protecting your assets upon your passing is very important and The Salas Law Firm can help you properly prepare for the passing of life.
If you would like input on:
Who will receive your property when you die; who will receive your money when you die; or who will be appointed guardian of your minor children when you die.
Wills are for everyone, not just the wealthy. Regardless of how much or how little money you have, a Will ensures that your personal belongings and assets go to the family members or beneficiaries you designate. Without a Will, the court, not you may decide how your assets are distributed.
For any person with children, a will is a must; in order to ensure that you choose your children's guardian. Few people plan to death, but if you die suddenly without a Will, you'll be subjecting your family and loved ones to confusion and anxiety at what will be an already a difficult time.
A Will should always appoint a guardian for minor children, appoint an executor to administer your Will, and spell out specifically how you want your property distributed.
The first step in deciding how you want your property distributed is gathering information. (Please see Client Questionnaire on Forms page)
If the following statements describe you, a basic will is probably enough:
On the other hand, if any one of the following applies to you, then you probably need something more than a basic will:
A basic living trust allows property to avoid probate and to quickly and efficiently pass to the beneficiaries you name, without the hassles and expense of probate court proceedings. A married couple can use one basic living trust to handle both co-owned property and separate property.
To create a basic living trust, a declaration of trust is created where the settlor is named trustee.
Next ownership of some or all settlor property is transferred to settlor in his or her capacity as trustee.
In the declaration of trust document, the settlor names the people or organizations he or she wants to inherit the trust property upon death. The beneficiaries may change if desired; additionally the settlor may revoke the trust at any time.
Upon death, the named beneficiary, successor trustee, in the trust document takes over and transfers ownership of trust property to other designated beneficiaries. In most cases, the successor trustee can handle the whole process in a few weeks with some simple paperwork and no probate court proceedings are required.
Two basic documents that allow you to set out your wishes for medical care:
A written statement that details the type of care you want (or don't want) if you become incapacitated. A living will bears no relation to the conventional will or living trust used to leave property at death; it's strictly a place to spell out your health care preferences.
You can use your living will to say as much or as little as you wish about the kind of health care you want to receive.
You'll also want what's usually called a durable power of attorney for health care. In this document, you appoint someone you trust to be your health care agent (sometimes called an attorney-in-fact for health care, health care proxy, or surrogate) to make any necessary health care decisions for you and to see that doctors and other health care providers give you the type of care you wish to receive.
Your health care documents take effect if your doctor determines that you lack the ability -- often called the "capacity" -- to make your own health care decisions. Lacking capacity usually means that:
Your written wishes for health care remain effective as long as you are alive, unless you specifically revoke your documents or a court steps in (but court involvement is very rare). Here are a few specifics about when your health care documents are no longer effective:
It is also possible that a court could invalidate your document if it wasn't properly completed -- for example, if you did not meet your state's requirements for having the document notarized or witnessed.
For immediate help with your Estate Plan, contact The Salas Law Firm by calling (970) 797-2519.