Helpful Information

The contents of this page and website reflect general legal principles. For advice on a particular problem, please contact us or call an attorney of your choice.

Why do I need a Will - What if?

We can help you organize and plan for life's uncertainties. What if something happened to me? My spouse? My parents? My child? Who would take care of things?

As professional attorneys, we want you to think through the specifics of these "What Ifs." Here are some guidelines to help you get your plans in order. Discuss these with your family, then your attorney. Consider different alternatives we may suggest, until you are confident that you understand the options enough to choose the right ones for your needs at this time.

1. Who Are the People You Want to Benefit? To Avoid?
   Sometimes this is an easy one, sometimes not! You need to also be aware who the law requires you to benefit, and how your estate will pass if you do not have a will. Often your beneficiaries may require special handling due to age, whether young or old, government benefit eligibility, or particular habits that concern you such as poor financial skills, gambling habits, drug or alcohol abuse. Sometimes you need to make sure property you leave to a minor goes to someone who can handle the money properly - not always their parent. We can suggest approaches to handle such delicate situations. Of course, as legal professionals, your information is received in confidence.
    
2. Who Will Be Your Personal Representatives?
   In setting up your estate plan, you need to identify a few trusted individuals who can carry out your wishes, based on your estate plan, when you aren't around or able to do that. Here are some of those individuals:
    
   • Executor: The person who carries out the instructions of your will.
   • Attorney-in-Fact: Person with legal and financial authority in your absence or unavailability during your lifetime.
   • Health Care Proxy: Person who knows your medical history and your preferences for medical care. This person will consult with medical professionals and make decisions about your care if you cannot communicate your wishes.
   • Trustee: Financial manager for your own money or property that you give or bequeath to another through your will. They don't call them "Trusts" for nothing. This is most often used for minor children.
   • Guardian: Caretaker of the person and/or property of someone who cannot take care of themselves, because of either age or mental infirmity. You should be careful to nominate one for your minor children.
      
   These positions are all ones of great trust and responsibility. Once named in your legal documents, they should be reviewed every few years to make sure your choice is still the best one for each role.
    
3. Alternates: Representatives and Plans
   A single event can change many lives dramatically, in one day. Your will and other planning documents should always include alternate Personal Representatives and sometimes alternate provisions for distribution in case your first-named beneficiaries die before you do, or in a common accident with you.
    
4. You've Thought It Through. Now Do It!
   Have your legal professional create the documents. This means "see it through" - to signature and safe storage. Once signed with the formalities required by law, these documents should be stored in a waterproof, fireproof place. A safety deposit box, with your Personal Representative listed as permitted access, is ideal. The originals of these important documents will be required for filing or legal use. They must be safely stored until needed.
    
5. Review Your Documents Periodically
   Even when your legal documents are well-drafted and based on your wishes, they may need updates as time goes by and circumstances change. Get in the habit of reviewing them periodically to make sure they still reflect your current wishes. Sometimes changes imposed by law can affect these documents whether you intend it or not! Contact us if you have any questions or need changes made.
    
6. Have Those Difficult Talks
   Your Personal Representatives can best carry out your wishes when you've made them clear. In addition to clean, professionally-drafted legal documents, you should take the opportunity to discuss issues with your Personal Representative like funeral arrangements, burial preferences, medical preferences, and "heroic measures" in the event of terminal illness. Of course, these are hard topics. The importance of this conversation is right up there with "You've Thought it Through - Now Do It!" If they have documents backing up their understanding of your wishes, you can truly rest in peace, even during your lifetime.
    
7. An Ounce of Prevention
   The cost of getting these plans in place is not minimal. The price to compare, though, is correcting matters after it's too late for you to speak for yourself. Your assets may not get to the persons you intend. More people will end up with title to your real estate than you intend. Guardians must be appointed for your children. Most important, you will lose the chance to assign those roles of trust and responsibility yourself unless you nominate your choices in valid legal documents while you are alive, and of sound mind. We recognize the importance of getting your affairs in order. We can help with a payment plan if needed.

The professionals at Karsner & Meehan, P.C. have helped hundreds of people to sort through these difficult decisions and create comfortable, peace-of-mind plans to allow your family and business to carry on in your absence.