Monday, April 04, 2011
A Solid Estate Plan is Like Insurance for Your Affairs during Incapacity and Death
I cannot count how many times I have heard people say, “I don’t care what happens when I’m gone… They can do what they want with my stuff, I won’t be here!”
I could likely convince over 90% of the people who say that to me, that they actually do care, but they’re frustrated over how to plan in a practical, sensible way that ensures their estate is left in good hands.
At our firm, we view estate planning as an insurance policy for your affairs. You need to ensure that your affairs are going to be handled smoothly in the event that you become sick, incapacitated or disabled. We don’t know when or if that will happen. Our hope is that it will not. But what if it does? Do you know who will care for you and manage your affairs? Who will make health care decisions for you? Some people will respond that their spouse will do these things. What if both of you are incapacitated at the same time? Then what?
Unfortunately, those that are most vulnerable (elderly, those that are incapacitated, etc.) are often taken advantage of the most. We see it all the time in the estate planning field. Our goal is to prevent this from happening to you.
You also need to ensure that your estate is handled properly upon your death. There are many things that could go wrong if you do not have a carefully written and thought out Will or Living Trust. Like any good or service, you get what you pay for. Sure, you can pick up a Will form in your local office supply store. Unfortunately, those forms are most often a disservice to people. It’s not about how “good” the form is, or the form at all… Can a two page form really make sense of every aspect of your family? Rather, it’s about knowing the right questions to ask, and taking lots of factors into account. Every family is unique and has issues that must be sorted out. It cannot all be put neatly onto a simple two page form.
That’s not to say your estate plan should be complicated. No, we should always have the goal to keep things as simple as possible, while taking into account the complexities of your own family. We think the true value of estate planning is the consultation you receive with a qualified attorney, who knows what questions to ask and what to consider based on what he or she is hearing. By having a professional tailor your estate plan to your needs, you are creating insurance for your affairs. The last thing you want upon your death is for your family to bicker, argue and be torn apart over something insignificant that you could have dealt with while you were still living.
Have you given your estate plan adequate thought? Need a review of your current plan? Contact our office today for a complementary consultation at (215) 706-0200 or www.JawAtLaw.com. We are located in Willow Grove, PA in the Executive Mews Office Complex.