Adjust Your Sails

By Colleen Sinclair Prosser, Attorney

“I cannot change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
Estate planning is one place in life where you have the power to alter the outcome. Taking the time to decide who, when and how your money will be handled and who will manage your health care when you are unable to make those decisions for yourself are important choices that you have the power to make.
A well-rounded estate plan includes five documents a Revocable Living Trust, a General Durable Power of Attorney, a Health Care Power of Attorney, a Living Will and a Will. A Will is only effective at death; the other four documents have an impact during your lifetime.
In order to be effective, a Will must be admitted to probate. Probate is a process to transfer clear title of property from the person who died to the people designated in the Will. As with most legal processes, probate can be costly, time-consuming, and public. The most important role of the Will is the appointment of guardians for minor children.
A “Revocable Living Trust” is a trust, which is created while you are living, and which you can revoke or amend at any time. A well-drafted trust can be extremely flexible and can facilitate management of your assets while you are well, during a period of incapacity, and long after your death. While you are alive and well, you would be the trustee and manage the assets in your trust. Upon your incapacity or death, someone designated by you would take over as trustee and would manage the trust, making investment and distribution decisions in accordance with the instructions you set forth in the trust, providing continuity in asset management. Assets which are in a trust do not have to go through the probate process.
In a General Durable Power of Attorney, you appoint someone to make decisions for property not controlled by the trust such as IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement accounts. This provides for a smooth transition during periods of incapacity.
In a Health Care Power of Attorney, you appoint someone to make medical decisions for you in the event you can no longer do so for yourself. You may also express any wishes you have regarding life-prolonging measures in a Living Will.
Once you and a qualified estate planning attorney review your current financial status, you will realize how vital these estate planning provisions are to the preservation of your estate.