An Estate Plan consists of some of the most important legal documents you'll ever have.
A simple will and a trust can help you:
- Provide specific gifts to
the beneficiaries you choose
- State your wishes for burial
- Take advantage of special tax breaks and incentives
- Minimize
or eliminate the probate process
- Organize assets and wishes for blended
families
- Ensure that your estate is administered in private
- Name guardians for your children
- Provide for "special
needs" children
- Eliminate the mess that occurs when a person dies "intestate"
or without a will
- Protect your Domestic Partner
- Create trusts for minors or other loved ones
A well rounded Estate Plan will also include Powers of Attorney for Property and Health Care.
These documents are particularly critical for Domestic Partners.

A Power of Attorney for Property allows another person or persons to make decisions
regarding your property in the event you are unable. Without this document, typically only your spouse or adult children
will be able to make these decisions. It is critical to have a Power of Attorney for Property if there are certain people
other than your spouse that you would like to act for you, or serve as alternates to your spouse.
A Power of Attorney for Health Care allows you to designate people who can make medical decisions
regarding your care or treatment in the event you are unable. Note that this document is very different from a living
will, and in many ways is more flexible and powerful than a living will.
Updating
your Estate Plan
It's just as important to periodically review your
Estate Plan to make sure it still reflects your wishes and includes all of your assets. When should you consult an attorney
about updating your Estate Plan? Typically, when you have a "life event". Life events include engagement,
marriage, separation, divorce, birth of a child, death of a spouse or beneficiary, purchase of a home or other major asset,
remarriage, or reloction to another state. When life events occur, there are changes so dramatic that people typically
want to change their Estate Plan to include new assets, new beneficiaries, or to update the existing provisions to account
for the life event. If you aren't sure whether your life event affects your Estate Plan, please feel free to Contact Us for more information.
Other Practice Areas:
Practice Area: Business and Contract Law
Practice Area: Employment Law
Practice Area: Employee Benefits Law
Practice Area: Domestic Partner Issues