Working With Lawyers Every Day
About Me
Working With Lawyers Every Day

When I started to work with the city, I realized that I was going to be working alongside our attorneys every single day. While I was a little nervous around them at first, we quickly became friends and all of that anxiety melted away. It was really neat to see how many different subjects they could handle, and I realized just how necessary they were for helping me to manage various daily occurrences. On this website, I thought it would be really great to start talking about how to work with lawyers, and what it might mean for you and your family if you seek legal advice early.

Working With Lawyers Every Day

Understanding Estate Planning

Cassandra Stone

Having a plan in place for some of life's worst eventualities, including medical incapacitation and death, is important. If a situation arises where you are not able to provide guidance, others will be charged with the task of dealing with questions about money, property, medical decisions, taxes, and even debts.

The legal tool that is commonly used to address these issues is known as estate planning. With the guidance of an attorney, you can assemble documents that will provide insights into what your intentions were in regard to the following situations.

Incapacitation

Not being able to directly ask someone what needs to be done in a situation can be difficult for anyone. Incapacitation can occur for a variety of reasons, including being sedated during an operation, going into a coma, developing an illness or suffering a stroke. Depending upon your circumstances, there may be decisions that have to be rendered regarding your medical treatment, business interests, properties, and even family life.

It's wise to try to anticipate as many scenarios as possible. For example, someone who owns a share of a business would likely want to delegate their voting power in the company to a person they trust. The same can apply to other big concerns, such as advanced directives regarding when to terminate medical care.

After You Die

Plenty of issues are raised by the death of any person. Presuming there are no questions about the circumstances of the death, there will still be worries about the disposition of their property and wealth, how their remains should be treated, and how to settle any debts and taxes they might owe.

Many of these are what are considered traditional estate planning problems. You'll need to appoint an administrator to render decisions related to the estate. While you might be tempted to use your estate planning attorney, many professionals consider this a conflict of interest. If you want a lawyer to function as the administrator, it may be best to have a one draw up documents and another act as the administrator.

You'll also need to name beneficiaries for your estate. If there are any charities you wish to benefit, include them. Likewise, family members and friends can be named. In order to prevent difficulties with debts, taxes, and fees, it's prudent to appropriate funds to cover these items. Doing so will ensure that no person or cause you care about is saddled with a gift they can't afford.

To learn more about estate planning, visit a site like http://wolfleylawoffice.com/.


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