Estate Planning and Probate

Estate planning is a gift to your heirs, simplifying and protecting the lives of those you leave behind. We have extensive experience with estate planning and estate administration, including Wills, Trusts, Probate, Special Needs Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, Tax Planning, Medicaid Planning, Probate Administration and Probate Litigation. To learn more about our estate planning and probate practice and how it can benefit your family, please give us a call. 

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What are the Basic Estate Planning Documents you should have?

For most people, four documents provide sufficient estate planning. That being said, each person’s situation is unique, and you will want to speak with an estate planning attorney to ensure that your specific needs are met. The following gives a brief overview of some of the benefits each of these documents provides.

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1. A Living Will enables you to stipulate your wishes about your end-of-life decisions, such as whether you want a breathing tube or feeding tube, and your preferences about organ donation. 


2. In your Health Care Power of Attorney, you can name the person who will handle your health decisions if you are unable to do so. For example, if you develop dementia, that person can accompany you to appointments and relay and receive information (normally our medical information as adults is confidential). If you are in a coma after an accident, you might need someone to step in temporarily to make medical decisions until you are better. 


3. In your general Power of Attorney (POA), you can name a person to manage your financial affairs if you are unable to do so. Depending on the rights you grant in the POA, they might pay bills on your behalf, cash checks that you receive, wrap up your business for you or sell your home. 


4. Your Will is the document in which you identify who will inherit your property. The Commonwealth of Kentucky has a plan for your property if you do not have a Will, a plan which often does not match up with people’s wishes. You Will designates who acts as your executor to wrap up your affairs and carry out the terms of your Will. You might name a trustee to manage property on behalf of your minor children. You can also state your preference for who will be the guardians who will raise those children. 


For each of these documents, it is wise to name a primary person as well as a backup, in the event that the first named person is unable or unwilling to act. One person may not necessarily be best suited to handle all four situations. It is recommended that you carefully select who is the best person to fill each role, tailored to that person’s abilities. Over time, relationships change, and people move or pass on. It is not unusual to make changes to the documents, including who you name to handle each of these responsibilities.