Estate Planning Devices
Last Will
Wills are a common estate planning tool and are the most straightforward device for planning and distributing an estate. It is vital for a will to be prepared with the utmost care and executed in compliance with state and local laws. The testator will name an executor to manage the property, pay debts and taxes, and distribute the remaining assets per the decedent's wishes.
Trusts
A trust is an estate planning device that directs the distribution of assets after the person who created the trust dies. Trusts may be used to provide for the distribution of funds to minor children. For example, a person may set up a special needs trust for a developmentally disabled adult child to provide for their care and well-being. Trusts can also be used to protect wealth and leave a legacy for several generations.
Advance Directives
An Estate Plan can also include advance directives, which include legal documents to direct what will happen and who may legally make decisions if the person becomes legally incapacitated through physical injury or a deteriorating illness, such as dementia.
Health Care Proxy
A Healthcare Proxy is a legal instrument where a person appoints an agent to legally make healthcare decisions on their behalf if they are incapacitated or even temporarily unable to make decisions on their own. The agent cannot make decisions entirely on their own. The person may include specific stipulations such as demanding a DNR under certain circumstances, such as brain death.
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows the named agent to make legal and financial decisions for the person granting the power. In many cases, a Power of Attorney becomes ineffective when the person becomes incapacitated or dies. However, with a Power of Attorney with Durable Provisions or an Enduring Power of Attorney, the agent may continue to make decisions after the grantor is incapacitated and may continue to do so until the grantor dies.
Living Will
A Living Will is a device that allows a person to state their wishes related to the healthcare they receive if they become incapacitated. A living will usually provide a course of treatment healthcare providers are to follow. If both a living will and a healthcare proxy are both in place, the healthcare proxy agent may not override the directives in the living will.
Contact the Law Office of Thomas C. Haberlack, P.C.
Whether you have not yet started your estate planning, your life circumstances have changed, or you need to update your documents, call the Law Office of Thomas C. Haberlack, P.C. We are centrally located in Garden City. If you are unable to travel, we will come to you. Call our office at 516-804-6377.