I offer personal, private counseling to help you determine your estate planning needs. I can help you set goals or work within a well-established plan of your own design.

Once I have drafted your estate planning documents, I will provide you with copies of the draft documents to review. You may make any changes and ask any questions. Upon your total satisfaction and understanding, we will meet to execute the documents. At that time, you will receive your documents in a handsome binder; a convenient way to store your entire estate plan.

The following paragraphs describe the major components of most estate plans:

Revocable Grantor Trust (“Living Trust”)

For many, a Revocable Grantor Trust is the centerpiece of their estate plan. A trust agreement is a contract between the person creating the trust (grantor) and the trustee that transfers title to the trustee to manage assets for the grantor and the named beneficiaries. Normally, the grantor is the first trustee. At the incapacity of the trustee, a successor trustee (often a spouse) takes over management of trust assets. Upon the death of the grantor, trust assets are managed and distributed according to the directions contained in the trust document. This is usually accomplished without the need for Probate Court intervention, saving time and money. A Revocable Grantor Trust can also reduce or eliminate federal estate taxes. Probate avoidance and tax benefits are two of the main reasons many people choose to include a Trust in their estate plan.

Applicable Exclusion Amount for Estate Tax: 
Source IRC Section 2010(c)

	Year	Applicable Exclusion
	2002/2003	$1,000,000
	2004/2005	$1,500,000
	2006/2007/2008	$2,000,000
	2009	$3,500,000

To download a pamphlet on Living Trusts in .pdf format, click here.

Will

A will is a basic and necessary component of every estate plan. Your will directs the proper disposition of your assets and prepares for your family’s future after your death. Your will can accomplish many things, such as:

• Select a Personal Representative

• Make gifts to friends and loved ones

• Make gifts to charity

• Select a guardian and conservator for your minor children

• Establish a testamentary trust to manage your minor children’s assets after your death

Durable Power of Attorney

A Durable Power of Attorney creates an agent who can act on your behalf to do anything you can do for yourself. You can grant your agent either a limited or a very broad range of authority. Some powers often granted are:

• Purchase/sell property

• Conduct banking

• Borrow money

• Conduct a business

• Prepare tax returns

• Apply for governmental benefits

• Give gifts

• Select a Guardian/Conservator in the event of your own incapacity

• Transfer property to a trust

A person or a bank can act as an agent under a durable power of attorney. The agent can act for you even in the event of your incapacity, thus avoiding the need for a Conservator to be appointed in Probate Court. Upon your death, the agency relationship ceases and the document has no more effect.

To download a pamphlet on Durable Powers of Attorney in .pdf format, click here.

Durable Power of Attorney -- Health Care

A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care is often called an "advance directive," or a “living will.” This document is used to select an agent (Patient Advocate) to communicate your wishes regarding your care and medical treatment when you are no longer able to do so.  A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care becomes effective upon the written certification of your doctor and one other doctor that you are unable to participate in medical treatment decisions. The authority of the Patient Advocate ceases when you can once again participate in medical decisions. Your Power of Attorney can state your wishes regarding:

• Pain management

• Termination or withholding of life support, including feeding tubes and hydration

• Terminal illnesses

• Hospice care

• Dying at home

Everyone should have a Patient Advocate and should file a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care with their doctor.

Read how an effective Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care could have helped in Terri Schiavo's case.

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