Your Estate Plan is a plan for managing your legal, financial and medical affairs in the event of your incapacity and the distribution of your property after your death. Your plan will provide for and protect the people you care about. Your Estate Plan can be accomplished through a variety of vehicles or documents including: a Will, a Trust, and/or a Life Insurance Policy. When you create your Estate Plan, you may also wish to appoint a Power of Attorney, designate a Health Care Surrogate, and create a Living Will.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why do you need an Estate Plan?
What is a Power of Attorney?
What is a Living Will?
What is a Health Care Surrogate?
How much does an Estate Plan Cost?
How do I get started?
Why do you need an Estate Plan?
Some people find it necessary to create an Estate Plan to avoid estate taxes. Howerer, 98% of Americans do not have enough property to worry about estate taxes. For these people the most important reason to create an Estate Plan is this:
If you do not create an Estate Plan, the state of Florida will do it for you.
The Florida Statutes provide for the distribution of a person’s property if the person dies without a Will (intestate). If you die without a Will, your property will first go to your legally wedded spouse. If you do not have a spouse, your property will go to your biological or legally adopted children. If you do not have children, your property will go to your parents. If you do not have relatives, by blood or legally recognized marriage, the state of Florida will take your assets rather than distributing them to your life-partner or his/her children.
Without an Estate Plan, your property will not go to your alternative family members, including your life-partner.
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What is a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is a document in which you give someone else the authority to conduct financial transactions on your behalf. When you grant someone a Power of Attorney they are called your Attorney in Fact, not to be confused with an Attorney at Law. Your Attorney in Fact can sell your car or withdraw money from your bank account.
Why should you give someone else your Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is used in Estate Planning to designate someone to make financial decisions for you if you are not able to make them for yourself. If you do not grant someone a Power of Attorney and become incapicitated, your loved ones will have to petition the court to appoint a Guardian to manage your affairs for you.
A Power of Attorney can be used in many situations, for instance: you plan to be out of town for an extended period of time and you want someone to pay your bills while you are away. Another common use for a Power of Attorney is when you purchase a new car and you would like the dealer to register the car for you.
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What is a Living Will?
Sometimes called an Advance Medical Directive, a Living Will expresses your wishes about the administration of life prolonging medical procedures in the event that you become unable to make your own medical decisions.
Why do you need a Living Will?
Hospitals are required to give you life support as long as you are alive. If you do not want life support under certain circumstances then you must sign a Living Will.
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What is a Health Care Surrogate?
A Health Care Surrogate, which is also called a Medical Power of Attorney, gives someone else the authority to make medical decisions for you if you are not able to make them for yourself.
Why do you need to designate a Health Care Surrogate?
Once again, if you do not designate a Health Care Surrogate, the hospitals will consult your closest relative. Your significant other or close friend will not have any say in your medical decisions. They may not even be able to visit you while you are in the hospital.
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How much does an Estate Plan cost?
The cost of an Estate Plan can vary greatly depending on the size of your estate and the complexity of your wishes. The following is a list of prices for small estates and simple Estate Plans:
• Estate Planning Package
(includes Simple Will, Power of Attorney, Living Will, Designation of Health Care Surrogate and Declaration of Pre-Need Guardianship)
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starting at $400 |
| • Simple Will |
starting at $175 |
| • Power of Attorney |
starting at $100 |
| • Living Will |
starting at $100 |
| • Designation of Health Care Surrogate |
starting at $100 |
| • Declaration of Pre-Need Guardian |
starting at $75 |
| • Living Revocable Trust |
starting at $900 |
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How do I get started?
In order to develop your Estate Plan we must collect information from you. You should collect your bank statements, IRA’s, retirement plans, pension plans, profit sharing plans, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies, titles to cars, boats or recreational vehicles and deeds. After you have collected these documents contact our office for an appointment or to receive an Estate Planning Fact Sheet to complete on your own.
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