Legal Documents

Last Will And Testament

Are you going to provide for your family as you would wish do you want everything to be decided by the rules of intestacy?

Is your husband or wife going to have to sell the family home if you die? This can be avoided simply by writing a Will.

How will your property and possessions be distributed – will it be to the people you want and in the way you want?

Do you know if your family will have to pay Inheritance Tax – do you know how this can be reduced or even avoided?

Will your children or grandchildren be looked after as you would have wished – have guardians been appointed for them?

Who will carry out your instructions if you die who would you like to act as your trustees?

What will it cost your family if you name a bank or solicitor as an executor?

Are there any special gifts to go to friends or are there favourite charities you have always supported?

Do you want to be buried or cremated do you have any special instructions or wishes for your funeral?

If you run a business, will your family or partners be allowed to carry on without you?

How can you make sure they will still be able to obtain an income from your work?

Put an end to uncertainty. Give your family the security of knowing you have written a legally valid Will. Make sure that your wishes are carried out as you have arranged.

Trust

There are many ways to protect assets for your loved ones. One way is to use a living trust. Living Trusts are routinely used by average persons, not just the wealthy, to avoid the high cost, publicity and inconvenience of probate.

Property placed in an irrevocable trust will be excluded from your financial picture, for Medicaid purposes. If you name a proper beneficiary, the principal that you deposit into the trust (and possibly any income generated) will be sheltered from the state and can be preserved for your heirs.

Typically, though, the trust must be in place and funded for a specific period of time for this strategy to be an effective Medicaid planning tool.

A trust has three parties – a donor, trustee and beneficiary. The donor sets up the trust, the trustee manages the property in the trust, and the beneficiary gets the use and enjoyment of the property. A person who sets up a living trust wears all three hats, donor, trustee, and beneficiary.

After a living trust is set up, it must be “funded”. This involves changing the title of your assets, such as your home and your bank accounts, into the name of the trust. You maintain complete control over the money and the property in the trust. You can buy, sell, trade, or do whatever you want with your property, just as if the trust did not exist.

Notarial Services

Documents are notarized to prevent fraud and protect the parties to ensure that the signing party signature is authenticated. A notary public acts as an impartial witness to identify the signers to screen out impostors while making sure documents are willingly signed and that the signing party has the mental capacity to sign such.

Some documents require that they be signed in the presence of a notary public while others do not have to be signed in a notary’s presence. There are certain documents that cannot be notarized by a notary public. Below is a list of documents that cannot be witnessed or notarized by a notary public.

Birth Certificates, Photographs, the name on the document does not match the name on the ID presented, Blank or incomplete documents, Faxed or copied signatures, Wills, Documents that the notary is a party to.

Power Of Attorney

The Power of Attorney is a legal document voluntarily entered into by two parties and duly certified by a notary public, usually a lawyer. The first and second party in the Power of Attorney are: the Principal and the Agent,respectively. In the power of attorney, the principal appoints the agent to perform a task in a legal capacity in his lieu.

The power of attorney empowers the agent to act upon any legal circumstance necessary of the principal, mostly if the latter cannot conduct with others, his legal affairs in person. This scenario happens in most cases, when the principal is gone from his domicile or away on a business trip for a lengthy period; or worse, if the principal is ill. The power of attorney likens the agent as that of an employee as well as representative of the principal.

Another popular term for the authorized agent in a power of attorney is Attorney-in-Fact.

Succession

Although we might not like to think of it, death is a certain fate for us all. When we pass away, our families will go through a stressful and traumatic time as they come to terms with their loss. At the same time, there is a requirement for the administration of our estate, and this is usually bestowed upon a close relative or friend during this already painful time. However, a lack of foresight and planning can be catastrophic, leaving behind a tangle of assets and liabilities and possibly a hefty inheritance tax bill, depending on jurisdiction.

On top of that, the absence of a will can mean a distribution of assets on the basis of standard ‘default’ rules, rather than on the basis of your individual preferences.

Most jurisdictions will bear some liability to tax on death. This can be a specific problem for the administrators of estates, usually close friends, who must ensure every known asset and liability is accounted for before making legacies and signing off the tax bill. A major problem comes with the personal liability attributed to the administrators, which means that should anything ‘slip through the net’ which is later discovered, there may be increased liability to tax. In practical terms, this could mean a surprise bill for several thousand which has already been distributed in legacies and for which the administrator must personally account. Providing for these outcomes in a will is one of the best ways of avoiding this hassle and stress, and it can also be the best way to ensure all assets and liabilities are uncovered.