Estate planning involves preparing legal documents that dictate what happens to a person's assets after they pass away. These documents include a last will and testament, power of attorney, and living will. A will dictates how assets are distributed and must follow certain legal requirements like being in writing and witnessed. If there is no will, a court will appoint someone to distribute assets. Assets without a beneficiary designated must go through probate court, which identifies heirs, notifies creditors, pays taxes, and distributes remaining assets. A power of attorney appoints someone to make financial and medical decisions if one becomes incapacitated, and a living will specifies end-of-life medical treatment preferences. Advanced planning makes the process easier

1. Estate Planning
What happens next?
When a loved one passes away the last thing that a familt wants to have to think about is what to do
with the legal matters of that individual. You will want to make sure that th propor “advanced
directives”. You will want to make sure that your attorneies are capable of helping you prepair for the
futer in a caring and acurate manner.
Laws about last will and
testament
 The person making the will
must be at least 18
 You must be of sound mind
at the time that you sign the
will
 Your will must be written
 You must be witnessed and
notarized in a special way
 In order for a will to be a legal directive the will must be executed in a way that follows certain
formalities
 Must be accepted by the probate court
The will is subject to change at any time before the death of the testator (writer) at which point it
becomes final. Any amendments to the will must follow the same procedures as the original writing of
the will. If invalid attempts are made to change the will part of the will may become invalid.
If there is no will in existence then the court will appoint a representative to distribute the assets of an
individual. The representative may or may not know the testator and this may be more expensive
than just having the will made.
Probate
Assets that are in probate have had no previsions made prior to the death of the owner. Probate is
necessary in order to pass ownership of the deceased. This may include all or some of the following:
 Proving validity of the will
 Identifying assets
 Identify and notify the beneficiaries
 Taking inventory of assets
 Appraisal of assets
 Notifying and paying creditors
 Paying taxes
 Distributing assets

2. Power of attorney
This is a document giving a person the power to make decisions for another. This person can be
given full power of attorney or just allow them to control specified things. These can include:
 Right to sell assets
 Right to sign contracts
 Make health decisions
 Making financial decisions
 Changing power of attorney
The authority given cease to exists at the time of death of the maker of the power of attorney.
Living will
This must be made by a person at least 18 years of age and expresses the desired procedure
involving life-prolonging procedures in the event that the individual is unable to do so.
For more information about estate panning visit our website:
http://www.manderlawgroup.com/estate-planning.html