$800 Basic Will Package
By ensuring that you have a current Will, you can save your family and friends needless hassle and expense in their time of grief. The cost of creating your Will now will far outweigh the financial cost of probating your estate without a Will, let alone the emotional an monetary costs.
You should review your Will and supporting documents every 5 to 10 years to be sure they still reflect your wishes. Other reasons to revisit your will include:
- Recent marriage or divorce
- Birth of a child
- Children are now grown
- Death of your designated beneficiary
- Family conflicts
- Move to a different state
What the $800 Basic Will Package Includes:
An initial consultation to discuss your wishes and needs
A Last Will and Testament
This is the document used to state what you want and need to happen after your death: how your estate should be distributed, who should be your executor, statement of funeral or burial requirements, and setting up a testamentary trust for your children.
A Statutory Power of Attorney
Also known as a Financial or Durable Power of Attorney, this document states who may handle your financial affairs besides you. This is used so that your mortgage and other bills can be paid if you become incapacitated. Please note that this is effective immediately, so you should only designate someone you trust completely.
A Medical Power of Attorney
This document designates who can make medical decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated. For example, if you are in a car accident, and you are unconscious for a period of time, doctors and nurses will look to your designate for decisions. This document only takes effect if and when you are unable to make those decisions yourself. It is highly recommended that you talk to this person to let them know what you want (and do not want) done for you. You may even want to put it in a letter. You should provide a copy of this document to all of your doctors and medical facilities.
A Directive to Physicians
Also known as a Living Will, this document states whether or not you want to be kept alive artificially if you are permanently and totally incapacitated.
A HIPAA Authorization
This document authorizes others to access to your medical records and information. This is particularly important for children who are going to college. When your child leaves for college, he or she is now an adult, and medical facilities are not required to give parents automatic rights to their adult child’s medical information.
This document can also be helpful in a case where one family member is close to an aging parent, but other siblings are emotionally and/or financially supporting the local family member.
A Declaration of Guardianship
This document is the backup plan in case the powers of attorney fail. Occasionally a medical or financial institution will refuse to accept a successfully completed power of attorney. In this case, the person you would like to care for you would need to submit a request to the court to be declared your guardian. The declaration of guardianship is provided to the court to indicate who you wish to care for your person and for your financial affairs, should the need arise.
A final consultation to review and sign the documents.