USEFUL NOW:
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
A Durable Financial Power of Attorney is a very important tool. It allows someone you trust to act on your behalf in managing your property during your life. A Durable Financial Power of Attorney allows you to give power to another person or people to manage your financial affairs. This power is carefully constructed by you and is in effect only under the circumstances that .you choose. The power can be effective while you are competent to make your own decisions, when you are incompetent, or both.
Health Care Power of Attorney
A Health Care Power of Attorney operates when you are no longer able to make medical decisions for yourself. In the document you will name the persons or people who have the power to make those decisions for you. You will also state in detail what powers they have and what powers they do not have.
Your Power of Attorney will have the power to make decisions ONLY after your doctor determines that you have lost capacity to make decisions for yourself.
USEFUL LATER:
Living Will:
The purpose of a Living Will is to document your wish that life-sustaining treatment, including artificially- or technologically-supplied nutrition and hydration, be withheld or withdrawn if you are unable to make informed medical decisions and are in a terminal condition or in a permanently unconscious state. The document does not affect the responsibility of health care professionals to administer comfort care, including pain management.
Organ Donation:
Anatomical Gifts can be Included in the Living Will: The Ohio Donor Registry gives all Ohioans the opportunity to make a personal decision concerning donation, and it is a way to legally give consent for the anatomical gift of your organs or other parts of your body upon your death for any purposes authorized by law.
FOR YOUR FAMILY:
Last Will & Testament:
A Last Will and Testament is a document prepared to distribute your assets after you die. All estate debts and taxes must be first paid before distribution of assets can be made. To be valid, a will must be signed by you in the presence of two disinterested witnesses. You name an Executor to handle the probate of the will and the distribution of assets.
Life insurance, an IRA, a 401(K), or other assets where a beneficiary is named, do not pass pursuant through the terms of the Will, but go directly to the beneficiary named. A will may be revoked at any time, as long as you are mentally competent. If you die without a will, then your estate passes pursuant to the law of the intestate succession as determined under Ohio law.
Trust:
A trust is an arrangement where a person, called the “grantor” sets aside property for one or more “beneficiaries” and directs a “trustee” to manage that property for those beneficiaries. A trust is a legal entity that can be the owner of both personal property and real estate.
Trusts are very flexible and used in many different circumstances. They can be used to move property out of your name in anticipation of qualifying for Medicaid long-term care benefits. They can also be used to direct how your property will pass to others and after your death and avoid the formalities and supervision of the probate court.
Appointment of Representative for Disposition of Bodily Remains, Funeral Arrangements, and Burial or Cremation Goods and Services:
This is a specific legal document in which you voluntarily make a written declaration assigning to a representative the right to control the disposition of your body after your death including the right to determine the location, manner, and conditions of the disposition of your bodily remains. This also assigns the right to make arrangements for your funeral including the right to determine the location and conditions of your funeral, burial, cremation, or other manner of final disposition.
Estate Administration (Probate):
We assist executors and administrators in the distribution of property under a will. We can identify the most efficient and least costly option for administration, prepare and file all required documents, identify any spousal or family allowances that may be available, and guide you through the complicated process of estate administration (aka Probate). We charge an hourly rate for estate administration services.
FAQ:
- What is an Intestate Succession?
- What is a Probate or Non-probate Asset?
- How do I choose an Executor?
- Can I write it myself?
- What if I need to change something?
- Is there anything I can do to make sure my pets are cared for?
- How do I make sure that these documents once executed are safe?
- How does a Will Contest work?
Let’s have a conversation: Contact us.