Your family will change with marriages, births, adoptions or divorce. It is important to consider the effect this evolution could have on wills, trusts or durable powers of attorney. They have been previously put in place to preserve assets and protect your interests. If you have not taken advantage of these protections, the potential benefits of such estate planning tools should be considered.
At the law firm of Karen Ann Ulmer, P.C., we represent and advise people living in southeastern Pennsylvania on family law issues. We aim to provide our clients with the information necessary to make important family decisions.
For questions about how estate planning can be used to protect your family, call us at 215-752-6200 toll free or send our Bucks County wills attorneys an e-mail.
SKILLED LIVING WILLS LAWYERS SERVING YOU
Estate planning tools are used to preserve value and your choice in the transfer of assets from one generation to the next. As well as to acknowledge and protect your opinion on important issues such as the future health care you will receive and who will make important decisions on your behalf when you are no longer able to make them yourself.
Importantly, if you do not have a last will and testament that designates beneficiaries and distribution of your wealth. Your estate is considered intestate. This means that in estate administration, or probate, Pennsylvania law will dictate which of your relatives will be beneficiaries of your estate upon your death. Which percentage of your estate they will be bestowed, regardless of what your wishes may have been?
Another example of a situation where estate planning tools can be particularly cost-saving and beneficial is the care of the elderly or critically ill. It is time-consuming, costly and emotionally draining to seek guardianship or conservatorship of your incapacitated loved one and his or her assets. Creating a financial power of attorney, is a relatively cost-effective and efficient process. It is done with the full agreement of your aging or sick loved one while he or she still has the capacity to do so. The same can be said for the creation of an advanced health care directive, or living will, which outlines your wishes for medical treatment and end-of-life care. A medical power of attorney can also be appointed without the creation of a living will.
Our skilled and knowledgeable attorneys can also assist in the preparation, modification and administration of a variety of trusts used for preservation and protection of assets. We will thoroughly explain how each of these tools can be tailored to reflect your unique family circumstances and goals for the future, including how they may evolve over the years.
