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Durable power of attorney
A Durable Power of Attorney is an important legal document that allows you to choose someone you trust to help manage your financial and legal affairs if you are unable to do so yourself.
The person creating the Power of Attorney is called the “principal,” and the person they appoint is called the “agent.” Your agent can act on your behalf and, in many situations, “step into your shoes” to handle important financial and legal matters for you.
What makes a Power of Attorney “durable” is that it can remain effective even if you become incapacitated and are no longer able to make decisions or manage your affairs yourself. Depending on the authority you give to your agent, your agent may be able to help with matters such as paying bills, managing banking and investment accounts, handling financial transactions, and assisting with certain legal matters.
Why is a Durable Power of Attorney Important?
Planning ahead can make a difficult situation much easier for you and your loved ones. If you become incapacitated without a durable Power of Attorney in place, your spouse or family members may need to go to court to obtain the legal authority to manage your financial affairs. This process can be time-consuming, expensive, and stressful.
By creating a Durable Power of Attorney in advance, you can take control of your future and choose the person you trust to assist you if you are no longer able to manage your affairs. It can also help your family avoid an unnecessary court process during an already challenging time. A Durable Power of Attorney is an important document that every adult should have.
At Storch Miller Law, we can help you understand your options and create a Durable Power of Attorney that reflects your wishes and provides greater peace of mind for you and your family.
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Advance medical directive
An Advance Medical Directive is an important legal document that allows you to plan ahead for your medical care. It gives you the opportunity to communicate your wishes about your medical treatment and end-of-life care if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. An Advance Medical Directive also allows you to choose someone you trust to communicate with your doctors and make medical decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.
What Does an Advance Medical Directive Include?
An Advance Medical Directive typically includes a few important components, including a Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization. Each component serves a different purpose:
- Healthcare Power of Attorney: This allows you, as the “principal,” to choose someone you trust, known as your “agent,” to help make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make or communicate those decisions yourself. Your agent can communicate with your healthcare providers about your condition, treatment, and care and help ensure that your wishes are understood and followed.
- Living Will: A Living Will allows you to express your wishes regarding certain types of medical treatment and end-of-life care. By documenting your preferences in advance, you can provide guidance to your loved ones, your agent, and your healthcare providers about the care you would want to receive if you are unable to communicate your wishes.
- HIPAA Authorization: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) generally protects the privacy of your medical information. A HIPAA Authorization gives your designated agent permission to communicate with your healthcare providers and access certain medical information and records on your behalf. This can be especially important when your agent needs information about your medical condition, treatment options, or records to help make informed decisions about your care.
Why Is an Advance Medical Directive Important?
No one can predict when an illness, accident, or other unexpected event may prevent you from making your own healthcare decisions. Creating an Advance Medical Directive allows you to plan ahead, make your wishes known, and choose someone you trust to advocate for you when you may not be able to advocate for yourself.
Having an Advance Medical Directive in place can provide greater peace of mind for you and your family and help your loved ones and healthcare providers understand your wishes during a difficult time. At Storch Miller Law, we can help you understand your options and prepare an Advance Medical Directive that reflects your wishes and provides guidance for your loved ones and healthcare providers when it matters most.
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last will and testament
A Last Will and Testament, commonly known as a “Will,” is an important legal document that allows you to plan ahead and specify how you would like your assets to be handled after your death.
Your Will allows you to choose a person you trust to serve as your Executor. Your Executor is responsible for administering your estate, including handling the necessary steps to carry out your wishes and distribute your assets to your beneficiaries. If you have minor children, your Will also allows you to nominate a guardian to care for your children when you are no longer able to do so. While the court ultimately makes the appointment, your nomination provides important guidance about who you would want to care for your children.
What Is Probate?
Assets that are owned in your individual name at the time of your death may need to go through probate. Probate is the court-supervised process of administering an estate. Depending on the circumstances, this process may include validating your Will, identifying and gathering your assets, paying appropriate debts and expenses, and distributing the remaining assets to your beneficiaries. Having a Will in place allows you to make your wishes known and provides your loved ones with clear guidance about how you would like your estate to be handled. It can also help provide greater peace of mind for you and your family by ensuring that important decisions are addressed in advance.
At Storch Miller Law, we can help you understand your options and prepare a Last Will and Testament that reflects your wishes and helps protect the people and assets that matter most to you.
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revocable living trust
A Revocable Living Trust is an estate planning tool by way of a legal document that allows you to place your assets in a trust and designate a trustee to manage those assets for your benefit and, ultimately, for the benefit of your loved ones. One of the primary benefits of a revocable living trust is that it can help your family avoid probate—the court-supervised process of administering an estate. Probate may involve validating a Will, paying outstanding debts and expenses, and distributing the remaining assets to beneficiaries. Depending on the circumstances, probate can be time-consuming and costly, and it requires court involvement.
When you create a revocable living trust, you are known as the Grantor. You and your spouse may choose to create a joint trust, or, depending on your circumstances and estate planning goals, you may each establish a separate trust. You can also serve as the initial Trustee, allowing you to continue managing the trust assets during your lifetime. If you become unable to manage your financial affairs or simply need assistance, your designated Successor Trustee can step in and manage the trust assets for your benefit. After your passing, the Successor Trustee can administer the trust, including paying appropriate debts and expenses and distributing the remaining assets to your beneficiaries according to the instructions you established.
Funding Your Trust
Creating a trust is only part of the process. A trust generally protects only those assets that have been properly transferred into it. To help ensure that your trust accomplishes its intended purpose and your assets avoid probate, it is important to properly fund your trust. Funding a trust typically involves retitling or transferring ownership of certain assets into the name of the trust. Proper funding is an essential step in making sure your estate plan works as intended.
At Storch Miller Law, we guide you through the trust-funding process and provide clear instructions for properly transferring your assets. Our goal is to help you create an estate plan that reflects your wishes, protects your family, and provides you and your loved ones with greater peace of mind.
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deed into trust
When you have a revocable living trust, it is essential to ensure that your trust is funded so that your goals of your estate plan can be achieved. Placing your home into your revocable living trust helps to ensure that your home will avoid probate while allowing you maintain/preserve your estate plan. A Deed into Trust involves creating a deed in which you, as the owner of the real property, transfer title of the real property into your revocable living trust. Therefore, your revocable living trust will own your real property.
In order to transfer title of your real property into your revocable living trust, a new deed will be prepared naming the revocable living trust as the owner of the real property. This deed will need to be signed and recorded in the Circuit Court land records of the city or county where the real property is located. By putting your home into your trust, you retain the full power to sell your home. Additionally, if you become incapacitated and are unable to manage your affairs, it allows your successor Trustee to be able to manage or sell the property for you. If you have a mortgage on your real property, transferring your property into a revocable living trust will not affect your mortgage nor will it trigger the due-on-sale clause as an exemption under federal law.
At Storch Miller Law, we can help ensure your trust is properly funded and aligned with your estate planning goals.
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transfer on death deed
A Transfer on Death Deed can be a useful estate planning tool that allows you to create a deed in which you name a beneficiary to receive your home or other real property after your death without the property having to pass through probate.
With a Transfer on Death Deed, you remain in complete control of your property during your lifetime. You continue to own, use, and make decisions about the property just as you always have. The beneficiary you name has no ownership rights or control over the property while you are living. Their interest takes effect only after your death. When you pass away, the property transfers directly to the beneficiary named in the Transfer on Death Deed. The beneficiary receives the property subject to any existing mortgages, liens, or other valid claims against the property.
For a Transfer on Death Deed to be effective, it must be properly recorded in the land records of the circuit court in the city or county where the property is located before your death. If you sell the property during your lifetime, the Transfer on Death Deed will no longer apply to that property. You may also revoke the Transfer on Death Deed at any time before your death.
Estate planning is not one-size-fits-all. The right plan depends on your property, family, and individual goals.
At Storch Miller Law, we work with you to create an estate plan designed to accomplish your goals while helping protect you and your family. If you are considering a Transfer on Death Deed or want to understand how it may fit into your overall estate plan, we can help you explore your options.
