Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Medical Powers of Attorney

What do you need, when and why?

You need a Will, first and foremost, to make sure that your wishes for “Who gets what,” will be carried out. Your Will can also simplify the administration of your estate, name a guardian for your minor children, and keep peace among your family.

You need a financial power of attorney so that someone can handle your finances for you if you get sick and cannot handle them for yourself.

You need a medical power of attorney so someone can tell your doctor what to do for you if you are not able to tell him yourself.

You need a Living Will, so that you will not be put on life supports without your consent.

You need to have at least these basic documents prepared sooner rather than later. If you wait until you are incapacitated, you may no longer have sufficient mental capacity to be able to execute legal documents. At the very least, if you wait too long, getting these documents done may involve a lot more difficulty and expense.

Trusts

You need a Will, but do you need a trust also? The answer is, it depends on many things, such as your family, your beneficiaries, your assets and how they are held, and whether there are any special circumstances that indicate a trust is important. Sometimes you hear that everyone should have a trust. That is not true. We tell you the pro’s and con’s of a trust in your case, so that you can make your own decision.

Don’t do it yourself! Do-it-yourself Wills and powers of attorney, are often invalid, and usually cause problems and extra expense even when they are valid.

Don’t have Document Preparers do your documents! They are not attorneys, they may charge as much as an attorney and sometimes more, and the results often cause the same problems as when you do it yourself.

Call (602) 955-9555 to schedule your appointment to work through the process.

Bring these items to our meeting:

Who: A list of names, addresses, and telephone numbers for:

You
Your beneficiaries, including alternates
Anyone you want to leave out
Who you want to handle your finances
Who you want to make medical decisions for you

What: A list of your assets including

Names on the assets
Values

Documents:

The most recent bank and other financial account statements
If you prefer: Call us and we will send you a questionnaire you can fill out that will include most of the information we will need to help you.

THE GOAL: We can help you make sure that:

Your heirs are the ones you choose, not the ones the law chooses for you.
Your heirs get their inheritance with as little red tape and expense as possible.

"It always seems impossible until it is done."
– Nelson Mandela

Visit us at our convenient ground floor office or we can come to you. We offer in-home, hospital/nursing home visits and phone consultations. We make it easy for you.