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How to Prepare for the Initial Estate Planning Consultation

Maryland estate planning involves setting up a plan that meets the client’s needs, supported by appropriate legal instruments. The plan kicks in during life if a physical or mental  incapacity prevents the client from acting in his or her own behalf. It also provides, through a last will, for the distribution of assets post-death. In some cases, a living trust may be selected as a main tool in the plan. The comprehensive strategy is formulated during an initial consultation with the estate planning attorney. Additional fact-gathering sessions may sometimes follow, and a final meeting is held to review, get instructions, and sign the documents.

What can you do to prepare for that first meeting so that it is an effective and productive interchange?

It is best to come prepared with one’s thoughts and detailed information in hand. The first meeting allows the attorney to learn about the client’s life, family and loved ones, special needs, and aspirations for the future. The attorney can also formulate a thorough picture of the client’s financial situation. In addition, the attorney will set the legal fees and discuss any options in services that may be available. It will ideally begin a convivial and productive relationship, continuing into the future as changing times and circumstances may periodically require modifications and updates.

Preparation begins by your making a folder or container to hold all details regarding your financial life. If there is already a partial or complete estate plan, include also all legal instruments for the attorney’s review. Next, prepare a list of assets, including all real estate, investment and retirement accounts, life insurance policies, cars, boats, trailers, safe deposit boxes, stocks, bonds,  antiques, valuable art and all valuable property. Include proof of income, such as pensions, pay stubs, social security, workers’ compensation and any other benefits.

Copy all accounts, deeds, policies and other indicia of ownership. List all property owned under a right of survivorship with another person, all pay at death accounts, and similar assets. Another important subject these days is to inform the attorney what should be done with one’s digital accounts. Instructions, passwords, and any other details must be provided for each account to avoid controversy and even post-death litigation over these matters.

Prepare a list of debts, including mortgages, loans, credit cards, medical bills and other debts. Include also co-signed loans and copies of any divorce agreements, contracts, business agreements, and legal documents that may elucidate relevant financial matters. List also each person to be appointed, including the executor, the agent for the power of attorney, trustees, and a health care proxy designee. The same person can serve more than one task, and the client must decide the best choice for each, along with an alternate just in case. Be prepared to say whether the doctors are authorized to use artificial means to prolong life during a final illness.

 

It is important to come with a list of each person who will inherit under the will, with current address, phone number, and the percentage given to each or that they shall share equally.  Create also a list of all relatives, including decedents and even those who are not beneficiaries. The executor may be mandated by law to send them notice when opening the estate.

The client may designate a financial planner or CPA to attend the first meeting, with advance notice given to the estate planning attorney. The attorney will work cooperatively with other experts to achieve the best outcome for the client, while applying both federal and Maryland law in the calculations where applicable. It all sounds like a lot of work, but it is easy once you get started! It is well worth the effort and will save you money by not having to invest time later on searching for missing estate planning information.

Information in this article is provided for educational purposes only and not intended to constitute legal advice. Please consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for help with your specific situation.

Who is on your team of advisors?

Attorney Smith asks business owners a question that is the foundation of success in the marketplace.  A team of advisors may include a bookkeeper, an accountant, a banker, a financial advisor and a lawyer.

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Estate Planning Resolves Concerns for Those Without Legal Heirs

Estate planning in Maryland may involve special considerations for those who have no close family or heirs. It is important in that situation to establish legal protocols during life to take care of the distribution of one’s assets after death. This includes the important task of appointing an executor to manage the estate. In addition, appointments must be made for a health care directive and for a durable power of attorney, each of which is effective during the maker’s lifetime in the event of an incapacity.

The same applies to deciding on trustees for both living and testamentary trusts. Importantly,  life insurance, retirement and investment accounts require that beneficiaries be listed for direct distribution to them of the proceeds at death. With no beneficiary designation, the proceeds from those accounts are treated as part of the decedent’s probate estate, a result that may be undesirable. The individual with no children or immediate family must keep those beneficiary designations current and updated. Letting them lapse or remain unchanged after a beneficiary’s death, a divorce or other changes may bring unwanted consequences.

If there is no will, complications may loom for those with no legal heirs. When a person dies without a will in Maryland the state’s intestacy laws will kick in and specify the persons to whom the assets pass. In the case of no heirs and no will, one’s assets could potentially be forfeited to the state itself. This makes it critical to do some basic estate planning as soon as possible.

An important first step is to make a last will and testament. It gives the maker control over the disposition of his or her assets and prevents the dreaded forfeiture to the state. In the will, the maker can designate close friends, distant relatives and/or favored charities for receipt of assets in the percentages desired. Where there are step-children from a prior marriage or other persons of concern, the testator may provide for their needs. If any of them are minors, the maker may direct that a testamentary trust administered for their welfare until a specified age.

In addition to the will, a person often chooses to prepare a health care directive and a living will during the estate planning process. The living will is an important legal instrument that tells one’s doctors what to do during one’s last days. Many people do not want to be kept alive artificially where death is a certain and inevitable outcome. The living signed by the patient, usually tells the medical providers to withdraw artificial life-extension treatments, or alternatively, it may direct them to use all means available to extend life.

In the healthcare directive, the principal appoints a representative to make medical decisions if the maker is incapacitated and/or incompetent. For those with no immediate family, it is a relief to know that a trusted friend is ready to act on one’s behalf. The same holds true for the power of attorney, in which the principal can appoint a friend or business associate to conduct his or her daily financial affairs and to make important decisions during a period of incompetency.

Estate planning in Maryland is best engaged in with the guidance and assistance of an attorney who is experienced in that complex area of the law. Many factors can change the equation of options and legal consequences that are available or beneficial. As you can see, there are many reasons why a person who has no children or other preferred heirs has a pressing need to set up an estate plan without delay. The critical protections that you will receive for acting are in stark contrast to the unwanted impact of putting off such important matters to another day.

Information in this article is provided for educational purposes only and not intended to constitute legal advice. Please consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for help with your specific situation.