"Helping the scales of justice balance in your favor."  
                     Law Office Of Kari Nelson

                                 DO YOU NEED A WILL OR ESTATE PLAN?
              DO YOU WANT YOU FAMILY TO REMEMBER THE HAPPY TIMES?

You might occasionally have thought about drafting a will or estate plan and then thought, do I really even need one? Are wills or estate plans just something an attorney created to make him or herself more money? Aren’t these instruments really only for the rich?

I can definitely understand your questions and doubts. There are certainly individuals that probably don’t need a will at this time in his or her life. For instance if someone has no money, no children, no assets, and no friends; there is probably no reason to draft a will or estate plan. However, if this isn’t your situation, your family and friends would most likely benefit if you had a will or estate plan. Of course a will or estate plan, doesn’t really benefit you at all (unless it gives you peace of mind), it benefits those you leave behind.

Now if you are really wanting to protect or help those you leave behind, you can’t just set up a will and then forget it about it for the rest of your life. It is important to update your will when life situations change. If you don’t, the will or estate plan you leave behind might be just as ineffective as not having one at all.

Please review the following and if any are applicable to you, you need to consider either having a will or estate plan drafted or having one updated.

1. Do you have minor children? This is probably one of the biggest reasons that most of us even consider drafting a will. From the date of your child’s birth or entrance into your family, you want to protect and take care of that child. Hopefully you will be around long enough to make sure that your children are grown and on their own before you leave this world. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen and if the unthinkable happens, you want to lessen the pain for your child or children as much as possible. Your child or children will already have the pain of losing you and/or their other parent; you don’t also want them to have the agony of wandering where they will go and what will happen to them. You don’t want to leave fate and/or the state to determining what will happen to your child(ren) when you are gone. You owe it to your child(ren) to not only think and prepare for the unthinkable in the way of a will, but you also need to talk to the person or people that you would like to appoint to take care of your child(ren) if you are gone. You want to make sure that the individual you select is willing to take on the responsibility or you will leave the child(ren) in the same circumstance as if you had no will.
2. Do you have any assets? I am not talking about a million dollar estate, I am talking about a checking account, a car, household furniture, etc. If you have anything, you want to make sure that it gets to who you want it to without any unnecessary delay.
a. A proper will/estate plan is critical for making sure your spouse, your children, and/or your loved ones will be provided for properly. If they need the assets in your estate to preserve their customary lifestyle, you need to make sure you have a will/estate plan to prevent a delay in getting these assets to your loved ones.
b. A proper will/estate plan will also free up your family and loved ones to properly grieve instead of worrying about your personal affairs. Without a Will, you may be placing an unnecessary burden on your family by requiring them to try to figure out how to handle your personal affairs.
3. Do you want to preserve your family harmony? Unfortunately we have all heard horror stories about families torn apart by feuds over inheritance or personal property. A thoughtful will/estate plan reduces the risk of dissension among your surviving loved ones.
4. Do you providing for someone with special needs? If so, you want to make sure this individual is cared for once you are gone. Maybe you need to direct someone else to care for the individual or maybe you need to leave more assets to this individual or for his or her care. This is something you can consider and prepare for when drafting your will.
5. Have there been recent changes in your life or circumstances? If so, you might need to update or reevaluate your will/estate plan. In considering changes, ask yourself if any of the following have happened: death in the family, marriage, divorce, new asset (home, stock, car) acquired, asset previously mentioned in your will no longer available, new family member through birth or adoption, new laws or tax requirements, etc.
6. Do you want to leave a certain legacy? Do you want to lead by example even in your death? If you have been blessed with good fortune in life, maybe you want to leave something to a beloved charity. If so, a will/estate plan is absolutely necessary.


             OTHER DOCUMENTS TO PREPARE FOR THE UNTHINKABLE

There are a few other things beside just a will that you might need to consider. A will doesn’t take care of things that can happen when you are alive but for whatever reason need someone else to make certain decisions. The following documents are something that you might want to consider. You don’t necessarily need an attorney to draft these documents, but sometimes it is easier to take care of all this stuff at one time.

1. First, what would you want to happen to you if a situation arises in which you are hooked up and can only continue to live with machines? A living will is an advanced health care directive. It lays out your wishes concerning being kept alive on life support if your possibility of recovery is remote or non-existent.
2. Something else you need to consider is who would you trust to make health care decisions for you if you were unable to do it for yourself? Here we aren’t just talking about final decisions as addressed in a living will, this has more to do with whether or not to undergo a certain procedure after an accident when you are conscience or coherent to make the decision. A power of attorney for health care decision is used for all ever health care decisions. It gives someone close to you the power to make health care decisions for you in the event that you are unable to make those decisions yourself.
3. Finally, you have to consider who will handle your financial affairs if you are incapable of handling these on your own. The power of attorney for financial decisions allows you to appoint someone to make financial decisions for you. This document can take effect immediately or only in the event that you become incapacitated depending on your needs.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above issues or if you would just like to schedule an appointment to get started, please feel free to give us a call. We would be happy to answer your questions, if we can, even if you aren’t ready to proceed. Regardless of what you decide, I pray none of the above documents are needed by you for a long time to come.

The use of this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. Although I hope the information contained on this website will be helpful, it should not be a substitute for legal advice from an attorney that has reviewed the intricacy of your case.

Revised 12/23/10