Estate Planning is the process of evaluating your objectives for the management and the disposition of your property during and subsequent to your life. Mr. Siebert helps you to review your objectives and to create a plan where your objectives can be achieved. Everybody needs to do some estate planning. Estate planning is not just for the rich. Whether you are rich or poor married or single it is important for you to take steps to prepare yourself legally for incapacity and death. Call (847)253-7500 to schedule an appointment with Mr. Siebert to discuss your estate planning needs. Do you want to decide who gets your money ? Do you want to decide who will be in charge of handling your affairs ? Do you want a stranger deciding if you should live or die? Do you want your life’s savings spent while you are temporarily incapacitated? Do you want to spend all your money, your legacy to your children, so you or your spouse can get into a nursing home? Who do you want to raise your children? Who will be in charge of your children’s money once you are gone? Do you care who inherits your money? Are you concerned about the difficulty of those left behind clearing up your estate? If you fail to estate plan, someone else, maybe someone you don’t even know, might end up making all your decisions for you and will do it at your cost. Estate planning is implemented through the execution and use of the legal document appropriate to your circumstances. Mr. Siebert will help you prepare the documents appropriate for your circumstances. Among the estate planning documents most commonly prepared are: Last Wills and Testaments
A Will is a document that controls the disposition of a person’s property at death. It determines who is to receive what property. It also will name guardians for minor children and set forth their duties. A will can also establish a Trust to be created after your death for minor children or for other purposes. The Will determines who the Executor is and therefore who will be responsible for paying your debts, clearing all estate issues and distributing your assets. Durable Powers of Attorneys A Power of Attorney is a legal document in which you give another person legal authority to act for you. A durable Power of Attorney authorizes your agent to continue to act for you after you become incapacitated. A Durable Power of Attorney for Property allows your agent to carry out financial tasks for you when you cannot do so. This might include paying your bills, managing your property, and handling other money matters. A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care lets your agent make medical decisions for you when you can't make these decisions. Living Trusts A trust is an arrangement under which one person, called a trustee, holds and manages property for another person, called a beneficiary. A "living trust", also called an "inter vivos" trust, is simply a trust you create while you're alive, rather than one that is created at your death. Different kinds of living trusts can help you avoid probate, reduce estate taxes or set up long-term property management. A living trust lets you arrange how you want your property managed while you are alive and how your assets should be distributed after your death. Living trusts are popular because they are one way your property can pass to your heirs without going through probate. Living Will The living will is very different from your regular will. It does not involve transferring your property to loved ones. Instead, it identifies the medical procedures you do or do not want to receive during your final illness. A living will can tell your doctor whether you want to receive life-sustaining treatment if you have a terminal illness or are in a persistent vegetative state. Living wills are not as effective as durable powers of attorney as though they express your desires regarding treatment, they are not enforceable by anyone except the drafter who is usually incapacitated. A Durable Power of Attorney is a more effective document in that it gives authority to another individual to make decisions for the incapacitated individual. Medicaid Planning Medicaid planning consists of actions taken to reposition assets in an effort to protect the well spouse and the family and to promote the independence and quality of life for the Medicaid beneficiary. Mr. Siebert helps seniors and their families prepare a comprehensive plan to deal with long term care while maximizing the financial resources available to community spouse and family. Special Needs Trusts A Special Needs Trust is a trust created for a chronically and severely disabled beneficiary which supplements government benefits such as Medicaid rather than diminishing such benefits. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS SUBJECT OR TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT WITH MR. SIEBERT TO DISCUSS THIS OR ANY OTHER MATTER CONTACTMR. SIEBERT’S OFFICE ESTATE PLANNING LINKSAND ADDITIONAL OUTSIDE RESOURCES TO MATERIALS OF INTEREST ON THIS OR RELATED TOPICS.
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