Estate Planning
A comprehensive estate plan will ensure that some of the most important
aspects of your life will be properly managed, both during your life and long
after your death. It’s about more than having a will. Controlling your assets
and protecting them for you and your family, providing for the management of
your assets in the event of your incapacity, and making sure that your medical
needs and wishes are fully addressed – these are some of the important goals
that should be achieved by your estate plan.
At the Grant Law Group we take a client centered approach to estate planning. We work closely with our clients during the drafting process to ensure that their individual needs are met and their goals are reflected in their estate plan. But estate planning does not end after your documents are signed. We continue to work with our clients after the drafting process to address any changes that may occur. For that reason, it is our goal to establish lifelong relationships with our clients.
The following documents should be included in a comprehensive estate plan.
- Last Will and Testament/Living Trust – These documents are your primary estate planning documents that deal with the transfer of your assets after your death. Deciding on whether a Last Will and Testament or a Living Trust is the right estate planning mechanism for you involves several factors which we will discuss with you during the estate planning process.
- Durable Power of Attorney – This document authorizes another to act on your behalf usually with regard to financial decisions. The distinction of this document being “Durable” means that you may authorize any person, not just a family member, to act on your behalf even during times in which you may be disabled.
- Living Will – This document reflects your wishes with regard to the termination or continuation of life support systems if you are terminally ill.
- Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – This document will protect your healthcare wishes even when you are in an unstable situation and have not been declared terminally ill. In this document you nominate an individual to act as your healthcare surrogate to make healthcare decisions for you in the event you are not able to make them for yourself.
- HIPAA Release and Authorization – This document allows you to name the individuals whom healthcare providers are authorized to release medical information to. This document works in conjunction with your other estate planning documents.
- Declaration Naming Preneed Guardian – This document allows you to name the individual you want to act as your guardian while you have the capacity to do so. While the courts are not required to appoint the individual named, the court will give your decision great weight when deciding who will be appointed.