We all get busy and we all put things off on a daily basis.  Most of the things we delay in getting done,  like grocery shopping and getting gas, will probably not dramatically change your life if you get to it on Friday instead of Wednesday.

But, putting off getting your Estate Plan in writing may have a major negative effect on the rest of your life as well as that of your family if you keep saying that you will get it done someday.

Don’t put it off anymore.  Call our Charlotte Wills and Trust Law Firm at (704) 843-1446 and let us help you start to get the best plan for you and your family in place TODAY!!

Radaronline.com somehow got a hold of her Trust (which technically is a private document…one of the many reasons people choose a Trust over a Will).  Just for kicks to those who think a viable option is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) estate plan or that it isn’t worth the money to pay an attorney to put a plan in place for you, read Fawcett’s Trust and see the type of language that a proper estate plan needs to include.

If you don’t have an estate plan in place and even if you don’t have anywhere near the assets that Farrah Fawcett had, call our Charlotte Wills and Trust Law Firm in Charlotte, North Carolina at (704) 843-1446 and schedule your Planning appointment.  I am certain you will be surprised at how much you will learn!

Whether you are healthy or ill, wealthy or poor, young or old, Estate Planning does not discriminate.  Everyone needs to have a written plan in place. Come find out what steps you need to take to get your affairs in order and why you need to do them NOW!

Host:            Presbyterian Buddy Kemp Cancer Support Center

Location: 242 S. Colonial Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28207

Time:            6:00 p.m. – Light dinner will be served

Cost:             FREE!

RSVP: Call the Center at 704-384-5223 or Sabrina Winters at 704-843-1446

If you cannot attend and do not have any written plans in place, I encourage you to contact our Charlotte, North Carolina Estate Planning firm at (704) 843-1446 to schedule your planning consultation.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

An executor is a person named in a Last Will and Testament.  This person’s role is to submit the original Last Will and Testament to the Probate Court in the county where the person died and request authority from the Clerk to collect and distribute the assets according to the Will.

A trustee is a person named in either a Last Will and Testament or a Revocable Living Trust.  (This person is also named in various other types of Trusts, but we are focusing on the more known and used Revocable Living Trust.)  If this person is named in a Will, then he or she is named to be appointed the Trustee of a Testamentary Trust.  A Testamentary Trust is one which is created after death and included within the language of a Will.  The most common example I can provide is a parent whom leaves assets to a child but if the child has not reached a certain age, then it is put into a Trust, managed by the Trustee according to the requirements of the Trust.

If a Trustee is named in a Revocable Living Trust, he or she essentially is named to manage the Trust and the assets within the Trust either while the person whom created the Trust is incapacitated or has passed away.  This Trustee could also be managing a Trust for a child, similar to the above where it is created via a Will.

The Executor and Trustee can be the same person; there is no requirement that different individuals be named.  They just have different roles, sometimes being held at the same time.

If you do not have a Will or Trust in place, call our Wills and Trust Firm in Charlotte, North Carolina at 704-843-1446 and we can help you in choosing the best person for either role.

The realistic answer is probably.  The process may become overwhelming for that executor that is appointed.  Often times they are working, have families, and may even be out of state.   Much of the work in a probate  can be done via the mail.  Although, it tends to become cumbersome because assets need to be located; documents need to be forwarded to the institution, etc.  Sometimes, notice to creditors needs to be filed and it needs to be done in a specific manner. Do you know the language that has to be included? Do you know when the time starts running?  Do you know when it ends?

There are several filing deadlines that must be met as well.  There are tax issues that need to be considered as well as distribution requirements.  Making a distribution at the wrong time may have drastic financial penalties associated with that distribution.  Do you know when you can start distributing money?  Do you know when you can’t?
So there are ins and outs to the probate procedure that the typical executor may not know or understand.  Executors can ask the Clerk at the Probate’s court certain questions, but they are not permitted to give legal advice.  The Clerk can only give procedural advice and will more likely suggest that you speak with an attorney regarding your question.

I have retained many new clients in the middle of trying to do it themselves for several reasons.  The most common one has been that they just cannot handle all the details on their own.

If you have been appointed as an executor or administrator and need help in settling the estate, call our Charlotte, North Carolina Probate Law Firm at 704-843-1446 to help you.  We will be honest with you and tell you whether you really need us or not.

The value of your estate really does not dictate whether you need a Will or not.  If your estate is small or large, you still need somewhere for your assets to go.  If you want your assets to pass to whom YOU want, you need to put it in writing.  If you don’t have a Will, North Carolina basically has written your Will into the statutes and ultimately decides FOR YOUR who gets your assets.  These individuals may ultimately be the same as you would have chosen, but often times they are not.

So if you want to retain control after you pass, my suggestion is put it in writing, have a Will or have a Revocable living trust and make sure that your wishes and not those of North Carolina are followed.

If you are ready to take control, call our Charlotte Wills and Trust law firm at (704) 843-1446 and we will help create a plan that conforms to your wishes.

Did you…

1. get married or remarried?
2. get divorced?
3. have more children?
4. add grandchildren to the family?
5. increase life insurance policies or add additional ones?
6. become an empty-nester?
7. Retire?
8. increase your assets significantly (through employment or inheritance for example)?
9. inherit assets?
10. have children who were married and now are divorced?

Of course, this is not a complete list, but a good starting point.  If you have a plan and would like us to review it for you to make certain that it still reflects your wishes, call our Charlotte, North Carolina estate planning firm at 704-843-1446.

For example:  Your money market account you own alone has your sister’s name as the “paid on death” person (also known as – POD).  Your Will states that all your assets pass to your brother.  Your brother is not getting your money market account because it is paid directly to your sister at your death because you indicated a POD person.

This is why it is so important that your attorney not only knows your assets and their values, but also knows how your assets are titled.   You should make certain to do a beneficiary review when you create your Will or Trust as well as on a yearly basis.

If you have a Will or Trust in place and are not certain how to conform your assets, call our Charlotte, North Carolina office at 704-843-1446. We can help you do a Beneficiary Review to make certain the people or institutions you want to receive your assets are named in the proper place and manner.

When we finally spoke she told me that she had been in a pretty serious car accident two days prior.  She was driving and her 15 year old daughter was in the front passenger seat.  She was making a left hand turn at the green light and someone who was not paying attention ran the red light and hit her car in the passenger side where her daughter was sitting.  They thankfully are both fine, some bumps and bruises and certainly some sleep less nights will be part of their future.

She was able to get out of the car, but her daughter was pinned in the car and having trouble breathing. I asked her if anyone helped her out of the car and she said she was not going anywhere until her daughter was out of the car.  It took the paramedics 30 minutes to get her daughter out.

At first I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t one of the first people she would have called.  I mean, this was a big deal and we have called each other for such trivial things in the past.  After she explained further the details of the car accident, I understood why. She was struggling with her own mortality and leaving her children behind.  How could she share those feelings with anyone when she was struggling to process it on her own?

The worst part of the accident she told me was being so helpless and having to watch as the paramedics struggled to remove her daughter from the car.

My reason for sharing this story is to remind us all that none of us know our own destiny.  We cannot predict the future and at any time, something could happen to us. It doesn’t always depend on age, how careful we are or how healthy we are. There are always things that are out of our control…to some degree.

Get your Will or Trust and nomination of guardians for your minor children and advanced directives in place TODAY! Tomorrow may be too late!

My father lost his brother years ago and I held my father’s hand from the moment my uncle took his last breath through planning the funeral right up to the day the last relative left to go back home.   I also sat with my husband and his sister four years ago when they lost their dad.  We were by mom’s side making heartbreaking decisions at the funeral home. It was obvious (to me anyway) that the daughter didn’t really know how difficult the experience of planning someone else’s funeral could be.  If she did, she would have been encouraging her mother and not discouraging her.

Did the daughter really know how difficult these decisions would be to make, especially during the time in which she is grieving their loss?    Would she know her parent’s preference on burial or cremation and could she ultimately make this decision easily?  Does she realize that she would have to pick the casket?  That this would entail either walking through a room or view pages and pages of pictures of caskets and decide on type of wood, color, interior finish and handles?  Did she really understand that she would have to make all the decisions on which thank you notes to use and what saying to put inside, and mass cards, and limos, and viewing dates and times, and head stones?  Who is going to pay for this?  If she doesn’t have the money could this affect the way in which she makes her decisions?

I don’t want to think about my parents dying or getting sick and having to make the decisions for them, I don’t think anyone really does.  But, if she could step back and see the bigger picture of why her parents want to plan, then I believe she would have been grabbing those brochures off the table.

Sometimes our parents know best and maybe when it comes to difficult decisions we as children need to act a little more -grown-up and deal with reality.  It’s not easy- it never is but when making a difficult life decision we must remember that it is ultimately ALL ABOUT YOU! It is about making these decisions today so that your children and family don’t have to.