Frequently Asked Questions About Estate Planning
What Is an Estate Planning Attorney?
An estate planning attorney is a legal professional who specializes in helping individuals and families create plans for the management and distribution of their assets after death or in the event of incapacity. These attorneys assist clients in drafting legal documents such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives for healthcare. They also provide guidance on minimizing estate taxes, avoiding probate, and ensuring that their client’s wishes are carried out according to state laws. Additionally, estate planning attorneys may offer services related to business succession planning, charitable giving, and guardianship arrangements. Overall, their primary goal is to help clients protect their assets, minimize family conflicts, and achieve their long-term financial and personal objectives.
Who needs estate planning?
Everyone! While your friends and family are busy planning your eighteenth birthday party, you should be scheduling a visit to your friendly local estate planning attorney. They will help you get all the documents you need in place so you can start adulthood on the right foot.
What does estate planning mean?
It’s putting in place a plan, known as an “estate plan,” that says what should happen if you can’t take care of things (either because you are incapacitated or not alive).
Why is estate planning important?
One reason is that without an estate plan, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will control how your assets are distributed after you pass away. The Commonwealth will follow established guidelines for asset distribution, and it is not at all interested in ensuring your wishes are carried out, streamlining the process, or minimizing costs.
Another reason to have an estate plan is to ensure that a person of your choosing can make medical and financial decisions for you in the event of incapacity. Without an estate plan, someone will need to petition the court to control your medical care and assets—this can be a lengthy and expensive process and may be undertaken by someone you might not want to make these decisions for you.
How to start estate planning?
The first step in estate planning is taking stock of all your assets. This includes your bank accounts, investments, real estate, vehicles, and personal possessions. Please make a list of everything you own and estimate their value. This will give you a better understanding of what you have and what you want to pass on to your beneficiaries.
This is one of the reasons why it’s important to start estate planning early. When you’re just starting out, you don’t likely have a lot to inventory.
Once I set up an estate plan, do I need to update it?
Yes, updating your estate plan is essential to always reflect your current wishes. Every year after your appointment with your estate planner, start a new journal, and as you acquire or dispose of assets throughout the year, jot down a quick note. Son finally divorced that wife you always disliked, and you need to change your will; make a note. Google has a great app called Keep Notes. Then, when you schedule your estate plan review meeting with your estate planner, it’ll be extra easy to make the changes you want, and nothing gets overlooked.
What is Probate?
Probate means going through the court system (the Probate Court) to get authority from the court to do something and/or to have the Probate court direct how something should be handled.
What is a Personal Representative?
A person named in a will to carry out its terms to execute the will.
How is a Personal Representative different from an Executor?
There is no difference. Executor and Personal Representative can be used interchangeably. Personal Representative became the term of choice when the Uniform Probate Code was adopted in Massachusetts in 2011.
What is a Power of Attorney?
A written instrument appointing and authorizing a person to act in the place of another. Someone holding a Power of Attorney is called an “Attorney-in-Fact” and may or may not be a lawyer. A “Durable Power of Attorney” becomes or remains effective if the person granting it later becomes disabled or dies.
What is a Beneficiary?
Someone who is entitled to receive benefits under a trust or a will.
What is a Codicil?
A legally binding amendment to a will.
What is an Advance Directive?
A document (such as a living will or healthcare proxy) in which a person expresses their wishes regarding medical treatment in the event of incapacitation.
What is a Healthcare Proxy?
If they cannot make their own healthcare decisions, one person gives another person the authority to make healthcare decisions on their behalf with this signed written instrument.
If I indicate on my Massachusetts driver’s license that I want to be an organ donor, do I really need a Healthcare Proxy?
In Massachusetts, indicating on your driver’s license or state ID card that you wish to be an organ donor does not replace the need for a healthcare proxy. While your decision to be an organ donor reflects your wishes regarding organ donation, it does not necessarily cover all medical decisions that may arise. A healthcare proxy allows you to designate someone you trust to make healthcare decisions for you, including decisions about organ donation if they are not covered explicitly in your advance directive or living will.
What is the difference between a Personal Representative and a Power of Attorney?
A Personal Representative deals with the affairs of a deceased person’s estate. At the same time, a Power of Attorney handles various matters on behalf of a living individual who may need assistance or representation in specific areas of their life.
I have a will; isn’t that all there is to estate planning?
No, a will is just one document in an estate plan. In addition to a will, your estate plan may include an Advance Healthcare Directive, a Healthcare Proxy, a Power of Attorney, the setting up of a trust, beneficiary designations, and/or a letter of intent, to name a few.
What is the difference between an Irrevocable Trust and a Revocable Trust?
An Irrevocable Trust, once established, cannot be altered or revoked without the consent of the beneficiaries. A Revocable Trust can be changed, amended, or revoked at any time during the grantor’s lifetime.
