A Deeper Meaning in Estate Planning

Hi All,

This week Amy takes the lead as she shares her view on a deeper meaning in estate planning. Since her clerkship, Amy is faced with two unavoidable aspects of everyday life - death and taxes. By examining a deeper meaning in estate planning, she is able to expand her view of her practice and provide those services to her clients with compassion and care.

Last Will and Testament

A last will and testament in its most basic form simply dictates how you wish your assets to pass to whom you wish your assets to pass to and who you want to be in charge of this process. What the will really does when we look at its deeper meaning is provide the decedent with control to dictate the terms of how his or her assets would pass to the beneficiaries. They may choose to have assets pass through their will into a trust so that they remain protected for a beneficiary who may not be able to manage their own finances for whatever reason whether that be age or perhaps a disability. It also provides protection and control by appointing who should be the guardian of any minor children. Amy can provide the legal framework to make sure that the guardianship provision is legally enforceable and comprehensive but it is the client that must choose who should be appointed as guardian if they are deceased and have minor children. While clients may grapple with who would be the best choice she reminds them that if they make no choice they are losing control over who can seek to be appointed. 

Healthcare Directive

A healthcare directive dictates who you wish to appoint to make healthcare decisions for you if you’re unable to do so.  This document operates while you are still alive. It contains one’s wishes with respect to certain end of life decisions such as whether nourishment and hydration should be continued, whether they wish to be an organ donor, and whether they wish to have end of life religious traditions performed.  This document allows clients to maintain control over the decisions that they would have made if they had the ability to do so. It allows them to feel protected because they have appointed someone that they trust to make decisions in their best interest and how they would make healthcare decisions. It allows the client to maintain control for providing a framework for how decisions should be made if they are incapaciated as well as when death is imminent. 

Trust

The trust is a private instrument that appoints a trustee to hold, manage, and distribute assets for the benefit of the beneficiaries according to the terms of the trust. The creator of the trust is called a grantor and her attorney has a wide berth under the law to craft the terms of the trust to fit their specific goals and circumstances.  A trust provides a way for the grantor to maintain control by dictating specific terms as to how the beneficiaries can access assets or have their needs provided for by the trustee. Often times a trust is created because the grantor wants to provide some kind of protection for the beneficiaries so a third-party cannot access the money. A trust provides control to the grantor because they can craft the provisions to very specifically accomplish their wishes. 

When Amy looked deeper she found that she is trying to create order out of chaos, provide protection for her clients and their loved ones, and allow her clients to maintain control. 

Have you thought about the deeper meaning in your practice area? Let us know!

Have a great day!

Haley & Amy

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