In Baker, "estate planning" refers to all of the decisions affecting how a person's property is going to be disposed of after their death, as well as the process of implementing those decisions when the time comes.

Estate planning typically requires the advice of a legal and/or financial expert, because the issues involved can be complicated, and are considered by most to be extremely important. A flawed estate plan might create conflict between your survivors, resulting in your intentions not being given effect.

Estate planning can have several positive effects on the planner during life, as well. These benefits are normally somewhat intangible, revolving around the peace of mind that comes with knowing that, after your death, you family will be taken care of and that they'll know what your last wishes are. Nonetheless, most people find this very valuable. To that end, you should come up with a power-of-attorney agreement. When you grant someone power of attorney, you have given them the power to make particular decisions on your behalf. You can grant them as much or as little authority as you want. Most people, however, give family members or life partners power of attorney with respect to medical care, so if they become incapacitated, their wishes will still be carried out.

A brilliant estate planner in Baker, can make this process much easier, minimizing the chances that your estate plan will end up in court, saving your survivors a huge amount of time and money.

Common Features of Baker Estates

Will: This is normally a major component in any estate plan. A will is a document in which a person lays out what they want done with their property after their death. These gifts normally have the effect of transferring legal ownership of the property to the named beneficiary.

Living Will: Unlike ordinary wills, a living will contains instructions concerning a person's medical care. Some recent high-profile controversies have illustrated the importance of making a living will, even for younger people. In a living will, you can give your family members and doctors instructions about your desired medical care, in case you become incapacitated (comatose or brain-dead, for example) and can't tell them yourself. Some people say that they would not want to be kept alive by artificial means if they are in a vegetative state, and there's no chance of recovery. If this is you, that's definitely something to include in a living will. Of course, if you would prefer the opposite, being kept alive as long as is medically allowed, you can put that in your living will, as well.

Power of Attorney: Power of attorney is the power to make binding decisions for another person, when that person becomes unable to make or express their own decisions. You can grant power of attorney to anyone you want, but, for obvious reasons, you should only grant it to somebody you trust, and discuss your exact wishes with them, in case they actually have to make a decision for you.

Funeral Arrangements: You should make it very clear to the people handling your funeral what type of funeral you want, and what you want done with your body. You should not put these instructions in your will, because wills are commonly not read until days or weeks after the testator dies, by which point it may be too late to give their wishes on this subject effect.

Do I Need a Baker Estates Lawyer?

A flawed estate plan in Baker can result in those affected by it being confused as to your intent, which can then lead to disputes between them. A brilliant attorney can commonly avoid this confusion by ensuring that there is as little ambiguity as possible in your will and other related documents.