Estate planning is not simply about taxes. Rather, estate planning is a family affair. A well-drafted estate plan tailored to your personal needs and desires will promote family harmony. A non-existent or ill-conceived plan, on the other hand, will leave your family more vulnerable when it confronts the emotional trauma of your loss.
A comprehensive estate plan includes, but is not limited to, the following documents and benefits:
Financial and Health Care Power of Attorney. If you or a parent becomes disabled or develops Alzheimer’s, the ability to make important financial and medical decisions may be lost. That is why it is important to appoint both a financial agent and a healthcare agent and to sign those documents while you or your parent is still able to do so.
Advance Directive of a Desire for a Natural Death. You should not impose on your family members the burden of making your end-of-life decisions without providing directions or guidance of your own desires. An Advance Directive will alleviate this burden.
Intestate Laws. If you do not have a Will, North Carolina law directs how your assets will be distributed. Most people are surprised by how their assets will be distributed if they die without a Will. *NOTE: There is no common law marriage in North Carolina. If you die survived by your domestic partner, she/he is not entitled to any of your property.
The Will. Most of my clients combine their Will with a Trust Agreement. The Will is simple and designates an executor to manage the administration of your estate and pay your debts and expenses. Assets are then transferred to the Trustee under the Trust Agreement, which contains the dispositive provisions of your exact plan.
Trusts. A major benefit of proper estate planning is the ability to establish trusts to protect a beneficiary’s inheritance from creditors, in-laws, and third parties, and even from the beneficiary’s complacency. Trusts also ensure that inheritances pass down lineal lines rather than outside the family.
Beneficiary Designations. Beneficiary Designations for your life insurance, IRAs, 401k plans, annuities, and other contractual death benefits are as important as Financial and Health Care Powers of Attorney. Because the combined value of these benefits may comprise a significant portion of your estate, beneficiary designations need to be reviewed and updated during the estate plan process.
Memorandum for Tangible Personal Property. Clients, particularly women, often want to designate certain items of jewelry, antiques, and household furnishings to specific individuals. The memorandum needs to be written in your own handwriting, dated and signed, and placed with your other original documents. You can revise the memorandum whenever you choose. Your attorney does not need to prepare an amendment for this purpose.
Guardianship of Minor Children. The appointment of a minor child’s guardian may prove to be the hardest decision you will ever make. Who will nurture your child to majority?
Meg D. Goldstein, Attorney-at-Law, has 45 years of extensive legal experience and is well-versed in estate planning, trust and estate administration, fiduciary relationships, charitable giving, and the formation and continuation of business and charitable entities. Her priority and passion are to ensure that each client’s specific needs and desires are addressed in a well-presented plan to limit future controversies between family members and business associates. She can be reached at 704.756.3626 or visit www.mgoldlaw.com.
