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 Estate planning is important for all adults of any age. The preparation for the orderly administration and disbursement of a person's estate at the end of that person's life is called Estate Planning. The preparation of documents at the McGary Law Firm includes drafting Will or Trust documents to minimize estate taxes, distribute assets to the appropriate beneficiaries and designate who will care for minor children.
A well-drafted estate plan is your assurance that the taxes and costs associated with your death will be
reduced. A good estate plan also keeps the process of settling your estate as simple and efficient as possible. Most importantly, your estate plan will ensure that your assets will be used to benefit the children, people or institutions you
select, in the amounts that you choose.
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney may be special or limited to one specified act or type of act, or it may be general, and whatever it defines as its scope is what a court will enforce as being its authority. Under the common law, a Power of Attorney becomes ineffective,
for example, if its grantor dies or becomes "incapacitated," meaning unable to grant such a power because of physical injury or mental illness.
The grantor (or principal) may also specify that the Power of Attorney will continue to be effective even if the grantor becomes incapacitated (but any such power ends when the grantor dies). This type of power of attorney is called a Durable Power of Attorney.
Durable Power of Attorney
In Washington, a Durable Power of Attorney can be drafted as a "Health Care Power of Attorney", an Advance Directive which empowers the Attorney-in-Fact to make health-care decisions for the grantor, up to and including terminating care and removing life support
that keeps a critically and terminally ill patient alive. Health care decisions include the power to consent, refuse consent or withdraw consent for any type of medical care, treatment, service or procedure. The McGary Law Firm will also craft a Durable Power of Attorney empowering the Attorney-in-Fact to make asset management decisions for the individual. These powers
can be granted immediately or upon disability.
Advance Health Care Directives
These documents are also known as Living Wills, Advance Directives, or Directives to Physicians, and are instructions given by individuals specifying what actions should be taken for their health and care in the event they are no longer able to make decisions due to illness or incapacity. A Living Will is one form of Advance Directive, leaving instructions for treatment including an individual's wishes regarding end-of-life care. Another form is a type of Power of Attorney where someone is appointed by the individual to make decisions on his or her behalf when they are incapacitated. Clients may also have a combination of both.
Clients are encouraged to complete both documents to provide the most comprehensive guidance regarding their future care.
The Estate Plan Package
The McGary Law Firm provides personalized estate planning services for individuals and couples at reasonable rates. The basic documents include the following:
- Last Will and Testament, which sometimes includes one or more trusts
- Durable Power of Attorney for Asset Management
- Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
- Advanced Health Care Directive ("Living Will")
Once these documents are in place it is advisable to review them periodically as well as whenever a significant change or event occurs in your life.
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