Posts Tagged ‘Estate Planning’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Do I get the inheritance that was promised to me?

Friday, April 12th, 2013

A woman (let’s call her Sue) called my office this week and explained that she had been a caregiver for an elderly lady (lets call her Sadie) and Sadie had promised to give Sue her car when Sadie passed away. Sadie did indeed pass away recently and Sue found out that Sadie had a Will but there was no mention of Sue in the Will at all. Sue wanted to know if she could enforce the oral agreement that she would get the car.

Unfortunately for Sue, the short answer was ‘no’.

Sadie could have added the gift of the car to her Will at any time before her death. Instead her Will had not been changed in a number of years and all of her estate was to be divided equally between her children.

Sue explained that the children never came to see Sadie while she was alive, and they never visited her in the hospital or nursing home. Sue had worked for Sadie for a number of years and she was the only on-going companion and friend in the last few years of Sadie’s life.

Of course, this is only one side of the story and I have no way of knowing if it is true or not. It doesn’t really matter because the estate will be distributed according to the terms of the Will and Sue will not receive the car (or anything else).

There is a moral to this story. Everyone should review their estate planning documents, including the Will, at least every few years just to make sure that you don’t want to make any changes.

If Sadie had done this review, she could have easily left her car to Sue as she wanted. As it stands now, Sadie’s friend Sue is left with nothing.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Estate Planning, Will | No Comments »

Another New Year! Time to review your estate plan!

Tuesday, January 1st, 2013

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone has a great and wonderful 2013.

And, to get things off to a good start, I’d like to suggest that you review your estate plan to make sure it is up to date and has taken into account all of life’s changes since you created the previous version.

New members to the family? Some members no longer with us? Perhaps a new pet that you want to make sure is taken care of if you are not able to care for him or her yourself? Have you become involved in a new charitable organization that you think deserves a gift? Perhaps the person you have named as the agent under your Power of Attorney is no longer capable or willing to do the job? Perhaps someone in your family has received a college degree that would make them a better fit for the job of executor or agent? Perhaps you have new acquisitions that need to be re-titled in the name of your trust? Planning a job change this year? Perhaps retirement? Is your health status changing?

This is a good time to take a few minutes to just think about these ideas. And if you think your estate plans needs to be updated, please give us a call. We’d be glad to help!

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Estate Plan, Estate Planning, Medical Directive, Power of Attorney, Trust, Will | No Comments »

The Difficult Talk About End of Life Issues

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

When my kids were little, I worried about ‘the talk’. You know…the one about the ‘birds and the bees’. Like most things in life, it wasn’t as bad as the worry beforehand!

Now is the time to have another type of difficult talk. This is the talk about end of life issues. What sort of medical treatment do you want in case you are found to have a terminal disease? Who should be in control of your finances in case you develop Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia? Who do you want to take care of your kids if both parents are hurt and not capable of taking care of them?

I wrote a post some time ago about whether or not you need a Power of Attorney. This was followed by a post on who you should name as your Power of Attorney. Yes, these posts are pretty old, but they also still make good sense, just like some good advice such as “don’t spend more than you make”.

Another difficult topic for ‘the talk’ is how to handle medical decisions if you are not able to make those decisions yourself. Again, I had a previous post about making an Advance Directive that you can find here.

The holidays are a time when families get together and it might be a good time for ‘the talk’.

I know people don’t want to dwell on unpleasant things and the incapacity or death of a loved one is unpleasant. But I have found through personal experience that it is so much easier to go through those difficult times when I knew what my loved one wanted to have happen.

Sometimes it might be easier to have this talk with an outsider. As an estate planning attorney, I have this conversation with clients and families all the time.

No, this isn’t because I like being ghoulish. I do this because this type of talk can give the gift of peace of mind to the entire family. Things are always easier to face when we have a plan.

If you already have these documents in place, this is a good time to review them to make sure your wishes are current. Sometimes we change our minds and that’s ok. And sometimes we have the documents in place but haven’t discussed them with the rest of the family. Now might be a good time for that talk!

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Estate Plan, General Information, Medical Directive, Power of Attorney | No Comments »

Virginia Advance Health Care Directive Registry

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

In 2008, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation to allow the creation of a secure online registry of advance medical directives. This registry is now available at www.VirginiaRegistry.org

This Registry allows Virginia residents to store copies of their health care related legal documents in a central electronic space so that these documents can be found quickly by their doctors, hospitals, family members, emergency responders and anyone else that is authorized by the resident. This electronic Registry makes it easier for people to distribute the information that is held in the paper legal documents that are otherwise stored in safe deposit boxes, home safes, home fire-proof boxes, or in a drawer in the home.

These health care related legal documents generally include an Advance Medical Directive, a Power of Attorney for Medical Purposes, a HIPAA release and an authorization for anatomical gifts.

There is no charge for the use of this Registry by Virginia residents.

The Online Registry website is a public-private partnership between the Virginia Department of Health, UNIVAL,Inc and Microsoft Corporation to provide a secure environment using a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and a password needed to access your documents. Once you have registered, you will receive an identification card containing the information that can be used by professionals to access your documents when needed. When you sign up for this service, you can also enter the email addresses of those you want to have access to your documents and the system will notify them about the Registry so they will know how to access your documents when they are needed.

According to information on the site, all registered users will need to renew their Advance Directives on an annual basis and the system will send you a reminder. If the user does not renew their documents within 6 months of being notified, their documents will be moved to an archive system and held there for 5 years.

We always encourage our clients to provide paper copies of their Medical Directives to their doctors, hospitals and to the person that is named as their Health Care Power of Attorney. This online Registry is another way to ensure that your Medical Directives will be accessible by those that need to know your wishes.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Estate Planning, Medical Directive | No Comments »

Do you have a blended family?

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

My parents were divorced and my dad remarried a woman who had children, so I come from a ‘blended’ family. I am also divorced from my children’s father and I’m now married to a man who has children from his first marriage. All to say that I know what it’s like to live in a ‘blended’ family.

I’ve heard that the schools now have projects to trace your family ‘bush’ instead of your family ‘tree’. It’s a sign of the times.

But, the laws haven’t quite caught up with society.

A step-child, even if they have been in your household and you have acted as their parent for their entire lives, is not considered your child for inheritance purposes. And problems can arise when a current spouse and children from a previous relationship all want to take ‘their rightful portion’ of an inheritance.

There are ways to take care of the ones you love by talking to an Estate Planning attorney and making sure that your estate is used the way you want. This is important for everyone.

It is even more important if you have a blended family.

If you have any questions about this or any other legal subject, please feel free to give us a call at 757-234-4650 or visit our website at http://www.BeaversLaw.com.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Estate Plan, Estate Planning, Trust, Will | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »