The Real Reason for Estate Planning

The real reason for estate planning is often overlooked by most people and attorneys.

Planning is more than a stack of documents. The documents are the implementation of a plan, not why you create a plan in the first place.

If you do a search on the internet for “reasons to estate plan” you’ll end up with a list something like this:

• Avoid Probate
• Save Time
• Save Money
• Avoid Hassles
• Reduce Taxes

But, are those the real reasons for an estate plan? The reasons for estate planning go deeper than just avoiding probate.

It’s true that estate planning can save money. So what? Money helps by giving your family more financial freedom. Your family will have more to go around. A little money can mean the difference between their financial independence or financial doom. More money often leads to more stability.

Planning saves time. So what? Saving time means your family can spend time taking care of what’s important, family, not doing paperwork and going to court. Your family will often get what is coming to them faster with a plan than without. This timing can make a huge difference in their lives.

Planning stops fights. Fewer fights lead to better family harmony. I know I don’t like to see my children fighting. I imagine you are a parent who wants family harmony.

Planning leads to a feeling of peace of mind. Most people that plan with me say that it is a relief to have their plan done. This is a good reason to plan, but I don’t think we’ve gotten to the real reason for planning yet.

If you keep peeling away at the layers, you arrive at the heart of the matter.

The real reason for estate planning is that you care about your family. You want to take care of them the best you can. You want to know that you’ve done everything you can to protect you, your family, and your money. You do that by planning for active management of your hard earned money during your lifetime and the easy transition to your family. You do this because you care.

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Celebrate Your Independence – 8 Tips

The best way to maximize your independence is to plan for it.  As we age, we’ll all need some help. 

1. Consider, when the time comes, getting help to do laundry, cook, and keep you company. You may also need help getting around. One good choice is Good Shepherd (479-361-8983).
2. Consider wider doors and hand grabs.  If you end up need a walker, then you’ll be glad to live in a place with 36-inch doors.  Install hand grabs to help you maintain your balance and not fall.  Steve Real at Real Property Solutions can help get those installed (479-426-6206)
3. Consider installing a camera system in at least the living area your children have access to. That way they can check in on you, even if they are many miles away.  Some systems even allow you to have video chats with each other.  Becky Grigg with Ozark Home Technologies (479-619-8574) has several systems that can help.
4. Another consideration is Life Alert.  If you do slip and can’t get up, you need to be able to summon help immediately. Time laying on a cold tile floor can lead to hypothermia.
5. Set up a buddy system with your neighbor.  You check on them every day and they check on you every day.  This doesn’t cost you anything and leads to a lot of peace of mind for you and your family.
6. Pick trusted people to help you manage your money and legal affairs. You do this with a durable power of attorney.  We can help you with this.
7. Pick trusted people to help you manage your healthcare.  This is done with a healthcare power of attorney.  We can help you with a healthcare power of attorney.
8. Have somebody you know with a great referral network.  You can call/text us at (479)717-6300 to get referrals for many things other than legal matters.  We are glad to help.

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7 Documents That Are Critical to Planning Your Estate

1 – Durable Power of Attorney

A Durable Power of Attorney let you pick somebody you know and trust to manage your financial and legal matters if you can’t.

This may be the most important document you can create. Without it, your family may be forced into court in a proceeding for a “guardianship.” This is when the courts decide you can’t manage your own affairs and name somebody to manage for you. A Guardianship is quite expensive because it involves going to court.

This isn’t something you should put off. You must be legally competent to sign a durable power of attorney. Many people worry about giving up control until it is too late. Then their family is forced into court.

2 – Healthcare Power of Attorney

Make sure somebody can make healthcare decisions for you if you beccome mentally incapacitated.

This shouldn’t be confused with a Durable Power of Attorney. The two cover different areas of your care.

In many, if not most states, a Healthcare Power of Attorney is only used if you can’t make your own healthcare decisions in any manner. As long as your are mentally competent to manage your affairs you do.

3 – HIPAA Waiver

HIPAA is a law that says your healthcare information is your private business. Without a waiver, your family may not be able to talk to the doctors and nurses to check on your condition. A hospital may not even be able to tell people if you are a patient.

A HIPAA Waiver tells healthcare professionals who you want to be able to check on your condition and get other healthcare information.

4 – Living Will

A Living Will (not to be confused with a Last Will and Testament) lets you explain in advance what treatments you want if the end is upon you. It is strictly to tell the doctors what treatments you want and don’t want if you can’t make those decisions.

A “Living Will” has no relationship to a Last Will and Testament or a Trust.

5 – Last Will and Testament

Wills require probate! Probate is public. Probate is lengthy. Probate is expensive.

Wills don’t give you, your family, or your property any lifetime protection. Wills are not even effective until Probate is opened and the Will is admitted by a Judge.

A Last Will and Testament

• Gives your final estate away to who you want in the amounts you want
• Names guardians for minor children
• Names an executor (somebody to oversee the process)

If you don’t have a Will, the Court, not you

• Names the executor
• Decides who gets what
• Decides who gets how much

6 – Living Trust

A Trust is a way to pass assets on without Probate.

You name a trusted person, the successor Trustee, to manage the property and stuff in the Trust. Unlike a Last Will and Testament, a Trust can distribute property now or later. A Trust can be used to create complex rules for the distribution of your property.

7 – Inventory

You should have an inventory of your property. This doesn’t just include your house and cars but should also include

• Bank accounts
• Financial planner or advisor
• CPA
• Life insurance policies
• Retirement accounts
• Pensions
• Divorce records
• Marriage records
• Deeds
• Stocks
• Bonds
• Mutual Funds
• Automobiles
• Accounts payable with contact information
• Any loans you’ve made with contact information
• Utilities

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What Estate Planning Attorney to Use? (Video)

What Estate Planning Attorney to Use?

Today I want to talk to you about the second top secret question for successful estate planning… what estate planning attorney should I choose?

Hello.  I’m Gary DeWitt from DeWitt Law Firm.  We do estate planning.  We do probate.  We do it well.

If you have questions about this or anything else you can book a time to talk to me over the phone or in person, for free, by going to http://PlanWithGary.com

A good estate planning attorney will devote a good part, if not all their practice to the art and science of estate planning.  Other attorneys simply don’t have the knowledge, skill, judgment or experience to plan your estate properly.

Nothing is more important in a lawyer/client relationship than having a lawyer you trust.  And nothing is more important to most attorneys that they can be trusted by the clients they work for.  You will be sharing intimate parts of your personal life and financial matters with the attorney to get your plan completed.

If the attorney has an assistant create your estate plan, then why hire the attorney?  You may as well hire the assistant (except that it is illegal in most states to practice law without a license…)

An attorney who structures meetings by allowing enough time to answer your questions.  High-volume practices have short appointments so they can move clients quickly through the process.  I don’t know about you, but this is not the level of service I expect when I hire a lawyer.

One who has dedicated his practice to helping people understand their estate planning alternatives.  An attorney who takes the time to explain what you need to know.  An attorney who has “written the book.”

At best, you get what you pay for. Most people do not shop for the cheapest doctor.  Instead, they focus on the doctor’s qualifications and experience.  You should apply the same principle when selecting an estate planning attorney.  If the fee is too low, the lawyer may be leaving something out.  Make sure the fee you pay and the services you receive are of equal value. 

Shouldn’t you be able to talk with the lawyer for free before you decide whether to hire him?  Shouldn’t you get the chance to make sure you are comfortable with them?

If you have questions about this or anything else you can book a time to talk to me over the phone or in person, for free, by going to http://PlanWithGary.com

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What is Estate Planning? (Video)

What is Estate Planning?

Today I want to talk to you about the first top secret question of successful estate planning… what is estate planning?

Hello.  I’m Gary DeWitt from DeWitt Law Firm.  We do estate planning.  We do probate.  We do it well.

If you have questions about this or anything else you can book a time to talk to me over the phone or in person, for free, by going to http://www.PlanWithGary.com.

Estate planning is the process of arranging for care of your affairs and the disposition of your final estate.

Most people think of estate planning as nothing more than deciding how to distribute their final estate.

This part is handled with a Last Will and Testament or a Trust.

Or, if a person chooses not to plan, the state’s plan, “intestate succession” is used instead.

The second area is rarely though of until it is too late.

It is managing your assets and affairs in case of mental incapacity or disability.

We are living longer than ever.  Unfortunately, for many folks, their body is outliving their mind.

Estate planning is about protecting your assets, dignity, and rights during your lifetime. 

This protection comes in two parts.

The first part is arranging for protection and management of your assets during your lifetime when you can’t manage your assets yourself.

The second part is arranging for managing your healthcare during your lifetime when you can’t make healthcare decisions.

The documents you need are:

• A Healthcare Power of Attorney
• A Durable Power of Attorney
• A Living Will (Advance Directive)
• Authorization for Release of Protected Healthcare Information (HIPAA Waiver)

If you have questions about this or anything else you can book a time to talk to me over the phone or in person, for free, by going to http://www.PlanWithGary.com

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Top Secrets of Successful Estate Planning #1b – Picking an Estate Planning Attorney (Video)

Hello.  I’m Gary DeWitt from DeWitt Law Firm.  We do estate planning.  We do probate.  We do it well.

If you have questions about this or anything else you can book a time to talk to me over phone or in person, for free, by going to http://PlanWithGary.com

Today I want to talk to you about the first top secret to a successful estate plan…  not all attorney are equal

A good estate planning attorney will devote a good part, if not all their practice to the art and science of estate planning.  Other attorneys simply don’t have the knowledge, skill, judgment or experience to plan your estate properly.

Nothing is more important in a lawyer/client relationship than having a lawyer you trust.  And nothing is more important to most attorneys that they can be trusted by the clients they work for.  You will be sharing intimate parts of your personal life and financial matters with the attorney to get your plan completed.

If the attorney has an assistant create your estate plan, then why hire the attorney? 

You may as well hire the assistant (except that it is illegal in most states to practice law without a license…)

An attorney who structures meetings by allowing enough time to answer your questions.  High-volume practices have short appointments so they can move clients quickly through the process.  I don’t know about you, but this is not the level of service I expect when I hire a lawyer.

One who has dedicated his practice to helping people understand their estate planning alternatives. 

An attorney who takes the time to explain what you need to know. 

An attorney who has “written the book.”

At best, you get what you pay for. Most people do not shop for the cheapest doctor.  Instead, they focus on the doctor’s qualifications and experience.  You should apply the same principle when selecting an estate planning attorney.  If the fee is too low, the lawyer may be leaving something out.  Make sure the fee you pay and the services you receive are of equal value. 

Shouldn’t you be able to talk with the lawyer for free before you decide whether to hire him?  Shouldn’t you get the chance to make sure you are comfortable with them?

If you have questions about this or anything else you can book a time to talk to me over phone or in person, for free, by going to http://www.PlanWithGary.com

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Top Secrets of Successful Estate Planning – The Two Parts of Estate Planning (Video)

Hello.  I’m Gary DeWitt from DeWitt Law Firm.  We do estate planning.  We do probate.  We do it well.

If you have questions about this or anything else you can book a time to talk to me over phone or in person, for free, by going to PlanWithGary.com

Today I want to talk to you about the first top secret to a successful estate plan… the 2 major areas of estate planning.

Most people think of estate planning as nothing more than deciding how to distribute their final estate.

This part is handled with a Last Will and Testament or a Trust. 

Or, if a person chooses not to plan, the state’s plan, “intestate succession,” is used instead.

The second area is rarely though of until it is too late.

It is managing your assets and affairs in case of mental incapacity or disability.

We are living longer than ever.  Unfortunately, for many folks, their body is outliving their mind.

Estate planning is about protecting your assets, dignity, and rights during your lifetime. 

This protection comes in two parts.

The first part is arranging for protection and management of your assets during your lifetime when you can’t manage your assets yourself.

The second part is arranging for managing your healthcare during your lifetime when you can’t make healthcare decisions.

The documents you need are:

• A Healthcare Power of Attorney
• A Durable Power of Attorney
• A Living Will (Advance Directive)
• Authorization for Release of Protected Healthcare Information (HIPAA Waiver)

If you have questions about this or anything else you can book a time to talk to me over phone or in person, for free, by going to http://PlanWithGary.com

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