Every family has its own approach when it comes to talking about financial and legal planning. The Fairfax Estate Planning and Elder Law attorneys at the Farr Law Firm, can help you feel comfortable discussing such matters even if you think they are taboo. In reality, families should be having regular conversations about these topics, as there is significant information that needs to be shared just to make the estate plan work smoothly. If you are even thinking twice about "estate planning" in general, don't!
Every family and individual needs certain estate planning documents, or else risk specific consequences.
Spouses
In many families, it is not unusual for one spouse to have a significant influence over financial and legal affairs. This may be the person who does all or the majority of the research when it comes to choosing a law firm. Yet, just because one spouse is more knowledgeable about family finances does not mean the other spouse should not be involved in the process. In fact, the Farr Law Firm insists on meeting with both spouses if they are physically and/or mentally able to attend the initial consultation.
Being open with one another is very important for married couples. Spouses need to know where and how to access important planning documents.
Examples include: advance medical directives, wills, deeds, living trusts, and power of attorney documents. These should all be accessible with short notice by either spouse. Likewise, both spouses need to have legal access and keys to safe deposit boxes and combinations to home safes as this is where such documents should be stored.
Children
Along those same lines, children (especially grown children) may also need to be able to access those same documents in case of emergency or death. It is common for parents to name a trusted adult child as their "financial fiduciary" -- their agent under Power of Attorney, trustee of their trust, and executor of their Wills. When doing so, it is highly recommended to talk this over with the adult child you have chosen.
You want to be sure he or she is willing and able to carry out the tasks properly when the time comes.
Again, this person will need access to your important financial documents, whether they are held in a special binder at home, at the bank, or can be accessed via your estate planning attorney's website (similar to how clients of the Farr Law Firm can login and view their documents on a secure site). The amount of information you disclose about what is in the financial documents is up to you, but it might be a good idea to at least give your financial fiduciary a heads up about what to expect.
Adult children just going off to college may not be fully matured (in fact, they almost never are at 18). Since college can be a great experience it is also one with risks involved.
If your son or daughter is going to a university out of state, consider what would happen if he or she were to require hospitalization. As a parent, you could be stuck calling hospital after hospital, but without a financial and medical power of attorney from your child to you, medical and financial information will not be released.
Incapacity Planning
You need to have some important discussions with the individuals you choose to have power of attorney over your affairs should you become incapacitated. These individuals will be in charge of your finances, but more importantly, they can be in charge of your health and physical well-being.
You'll want to ensure these people are not only willing to take on the responsibility, but you have thoroughly discussed your wishes with them.
Advance Medical Directives are a great place to lay out many of your concerns and desires, but actually talking to your personal representative will give him or her a better understanding of what you want and why. This can make decisions easier on their part when a certain treatment, procedure, or other choice falls into a "gray area" which you didn't specifically discuss.
The most important step you can take today is to call our office at 703-691-1888 to set up an initial free consultation to get your "Level 1" Planning Documents in place. Click here
to contact our Director of Client Services right away! PS: if you did *not* receive this article via email and you are reading this online, or if a friend or family member sent this to you, please do us a favor and
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