We recently learned of a story out of Florida that highlights the potential dangers involved with DIY estate planning documents. As with any legal process, you need the advice and guidance of an experienced estate planning lawyer anytime you want to create, or modify, any piece of an estate plan. While do-it-yourself products and educational guides might be sufficient to help you create a legally valid tool, that doesn't mean the tool you create will meet your desires, or be an effective estate … [Read more...]
Estate Planning in Rochester: Do-It-Yourself Plan Can Cost You – Part 2 of 2
Last week we looked at several reasons why do-it-yourself estate planning in Rochester is a serious potential mistake. Estate planning is such a complicated field, requiring the careful consideration of so many factors, that the vast majority of people are unsuited to create plans without help. While you can take the time to research the relevant estate planning issues, discuss the questions you have to face, and determine what goals you want to set for yourself, you should always make a plan … [Read more...]
Should You Include Pet Insurance as a Part of Your Estate Plan?
Whether you are a new pet owner or have been an animal lover for years, using pet insurance as a way to protect your pet’s interest after you are gone is an excellent option that you may want to consider as you create a pet plan. Pet insurance plans operate very similarly to human health care plans in that they afford protection against the possibility that your pet might require serious, and costly, veterinary care.As with other insurance products, balancing the needs of your pet against … [Read more...]
Use Power of Attorney, but Carefully
Through a properly drafted power of attorney, adults can allow others to make decisions on their behalf. Powers of attorney often occupy a key place in many estate plans because they offer such great flexibility and are easily tailored to fit almost any situation. Unfortunately, there are some potential downsides to using powers of attorney that you need to consider before you create these powerful documents.Coordinating Power of Attorney and Third PartiesWhen you create a power of attorney … [Read more...]
Critical Injury Insurance Questions
One important piece of estate planning is acquiring the appropriate type of insurance coverage necessary for your needs, such as critical injury insurance.Many people who create estate plans know that they will have to decide on the types of inheritances they want to leave behind, make allowances for the possibility of becoming incapacitated, and create specific legal documents that will carry out their wishes after they are gone. But insurance also plays an important role in this … [Read more...]
Making the Most Out of Your Trust: The Schedule of Assets
A trust schedule of assets is a useful tool regardless of the type of trust you are creating. Anyone beginning the estate planning process in New York can expect to create one or more trusts as part of that process. The individual trusts you create will afford you specific benefits depending on the type you choose, but all of them require similar steps. The trust schedule of assets is a tool you can use to help you ensure you go about the trust creation process effectively. Here is what you … [Read more...]
