Basic Estate Planning for your Family-Wills, Powers of Attorneys, Living Wills

(Will preparation starting from $150!)

Someone once said, "In life, there are two things you should never scrimp on-a parachute and your estate planning documents. In both cases, you only use them once, and they have to work." Fortunately for you, reasonably priced help can be found with our firm, and you can be assured, the documents will be Texas specific, up to date, and customized for your family's particular needs. Unfortunately, some people have a lot of misconceptions about estate planning. Some think it is only something old people do, or it's all about money or avoiding taxes. But proper basic estate planning is much more. It is about who gets your possessions (money and property) when you die. It is about who raises your children if they are still minors. It is about who makes the critical medical decisions if you are incapacitated, or, in the worst case, funeral preferences if you die.

But many Americans can't get over the emotions associated with death, and that stops them from putting their estates in order. Or they think they'll get around to it next week, or next month, and they never do. A recent Gallup poll showed half of Americans don't have a will, and more than half don't have a living will. I would venture to say this percentage of people without estate documents increases greatly for people under the age of 50. So, let's look at the different documents involved:

• A will, which is designed to designate beneficiaries of your possessions, who is in charge of the estate (the executor), who will be guardian of your children, and your funeral arrangements (time, place, cremation v. burial).
• A durable power of attorney, which gives any power you choose to any person you choose to handle your financial affairs, from buying property to applying for insurance.
• An Advanced Directives to Physicians, or living will, which contains your desires concerning whether you should receive life-prolonging care in traumatic medical circumstances.
• A medical power of attorney, which names someone you trust to make sure your medical wishes are carried out should you be incapacitated and unable to do so. Medical powers of attorney are available for children as well, in case parents are out of town, and decisions need to be made quickly by a caretaker.

Too many people think the government will somehow divine their wishes if they should die or become incapacitated, and too many families have discovered the property did not go as the deceased had hoped. While you can use an internet form or a form from a legal supply store, it isn't a substitution for a licensed attorney helping you make the best decisions for your family.