Fall is a season of change, the perfect time to review your estate plan and make sure it reflects your current wishes.
This Month’s Planning Reminders:
- Have a college-aged child? Put Powers of Attorney and Health Care Proxies in place.
- Life changes like marriage, divorce, or a new grandchild mean it’s time to update your plan.
- Review your health care directives and probate-avoidance strategies before the busy holiday season.
Client Question of the Month:
Q: “Do I need to update the deed to my house as part of my estate plan?”
A: Your home is often your most valuable asset, so it’s important that your deed matches your overall estate plan. In some cases, adding a spouse or child to the deed, or using a trust-owned deed, can help avoid probate and protect the property for future generations. But every family and situation is different, what works well for one person could create tax or Medicaid issues for another.
Client story from Attorney Jay Marsden:
Some family members of a recently deceased client came into the office. Obviously grief stricken, we shared some stories and some laughs about what a great “run they had” and we listened to them tell us all the things they went through as a family during the celebration of their loved ones life. Then things tuned serious, as they lamented their need to drive to Lowell to the Probate Court and start the probate process. They were not looking forward to it.
The mood in the conference room was heavy. But to their surprise, it was made much lighter when we reviewed their situation and revealed to them that their loved had followed all our instructions, all of our advice and guidance, and that no trip to the Probate Court was necessary. Everything was in place to make the administration of the estate as easy as possible. We could actually see their faces change, when they realized the task that they thought was going to be a huge burden, was made quite simple. (relatively speaking)
If you would like to leave your family this legacy of laughter, love, and lightness, call our office today and see how we can help.
Call us at (508) 858-5324 or visit www.jmarsdenlaw.com to book a consultation.