What Does My Attorney Need from Me?

Mark Twain once said:  “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” Technically speaking, a person with an estate plan in place is also prepared to die at any time.  If there is any upside to the subject of death, having an estate plan in place at least gives a person some peace of mind. You want to think things through and make a plan for your family before you get sick or something unexpected happens.   Life changes. 

Where should a person start?  Setting up an appointment with an estate planning attorney is your first step.  What information should you provide to the attorney? 

• Your contact information
• Social security numbers
• Your marital status, spouse’s name, date of marriage
• Your date of birth
• Names, contact information, and birth dates of your children
• Annual income
• Contact information for your personal representative/executor/trustee
• Contact information for the people you choose to list on your health care power of attorney
• Contact information for a guardian, if you have underage children 

The attorney will go over topics and will ask questions about your family and financial situation.  After gathering information from you, the attorney will prepare the following essential documents:  a Last Will and Testament, General Durable Power of Attorney (financial), Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will, and a HIPAA Authorization.  Once these are ready, you will need to come back into the attorney’s office to sign them.

What if you own a business, real estate, life insurance policies, or a collection of something worth a lot of money?  In other words, you have a lot of assets to manage.  If this is the case, the attorney may advise you to set up a trust.  The attorney will help you decide which one is best for you depending on your goals.  A trust is designed for long-term planning.  Assets can be held onto for the benefit of your spouse and your children.  Sometimes you will be given homework to do because you may need to list your assets and provide more information for the attorney.  For example, you may be asked to bring the following:

• Copies of real estate documents
• Bank account information
• Copies of insurance policies
• Retirement plan information
• Investments
• Tangible personal property
• Copy of divorce decree
• Any previous will or trust agreement you already had in place

This is a very simple introduction to estate planning.  Contacting an estate planning attorney is the first step to figuring out which direction to go.  A Will or a Trust?  It depends on your personal situation, but remember to provide accurate and complete information to help your attorney design and implement the best plan for you and your family.  It’s better to provide more information than needed, rather than not enough.  That will save time and money for you in the end.