There are many options available when creating an estate plan. However, not every method available is appropriate for everyone. Through our commitment to our clients and our dedication to meeting clients’ estate plan and probate needs, we strive to provide exceptional legal services.

Proper planning starts with defining your concerns and objectives. A common objective for many would be to reduce or eliminate the costs of probate administration or unnecessary taxes at the time of your death. Other common objectives include reducing the burdens on family members or reducing the potential for family “misunderstandings”. In proper estate planning this first step must address issues you may prefer not to think about, such as the difficulties your family may face if you are incapacitated, or the issues that will arise if family members do not die in the expected order. A second, very important, step is determining which family members or loved ones are best suited to make personal and health care decisions on your behalf, when you can’t. You must also decide who will best be able to manage finances and pay bills if you are incapacitated, or handle the issues associated with the distribution of your assets after death.

The attorneys at Hutchinson Legal Clinic intently listen to our clients when creating estate plans. Once we have a thorough understanding of their individual circumstances, we create an individual estate plan drafted specifically to address and meet those goals and potentially to avoid probate. Some estate planning instruments we utilize may include:

• Wills
• Trusts
• Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Decisions
• Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions
• Living Will
• Transfer on Death Deeds
• Other estate planning mechanisms

Creating a Will or Trust allows you – and not the courts – to make the decisions as to how your assets should be distributed after your death. If you die with a property interest in your name alone, without a beneficiary designation on that interest, then that interest will become involved in a probate proceeding. If you have a Will, you have provided the Court with a written set of directions regarding your estate. If you have minor children, a Will becomes an important legal document for the nomination of legal guardians for those children in the event of your death. Finally, in many circumstances, establishing joint ownership on assets with someone other than your spouse, for the purpose of avoiding probate, can result in more taxes, costs, problems and pitfalls than the probate process itself. There are a number of financial, medical and legal issues that must be considered when creating a Will. There may also be some planning tools that may be appropriate for your situation that would circumvent the need to probate your estate after your death.

Should you become incapacitated and unable to make health care decisions on your own, creating a Living Will or a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions allows you to indicate when to halt resuscitation efforts, when to remove feeding tubes, or who should make health care decisions on your behalf.

Medical and scientific advancements in life support technology make it possible for doctors to keep people alive for months and years who would have otherwise passed away. As a result, cases like Terry Schiavo and Karen Ann Quinlan raise legal issues that cannot be settled simply by the Courts. Creating a Living Will allows you to specify what sorts of “end of life” decisions should be made, when to halt resuscitation and when to withdraw life support.

While these concerns bear directly on people who suffer catastrophic injuries, they also come into play should you suffer from a progressive disease like Alzheimer’s. Providing a health care directive ensures that your loved ones won’t be burdened with uncertainty or legal complications should you become mentally incapacitated and unable to make health care decisions for yourself. Without health care directives, should you become incapacitated, it may be necessary to undertake legal proceedings, such as filing for a Guardianship and Conservatorship.

It’s never too soon to start planning for tomorrow.

For more information for Kansas seniors please visit these helpful websites:

Kansas Department of Aging
National Senior Citizen Law Center

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