3 legal documents you need if you are a single parent
Being a single parent is one of the hardest jobs out there. Whether you are doing it all on your own or have an absent spouse/partner in the military, etc. you carry the weight of responsibility for your children. Most people know that it’s smart to have a Will. For single parents, the most important aspect of the Will is that you use it to formally name a guardian for your kids – the person you would want your kids (under 18yrs) to go to if /when you die. Naming a guardian is critical. If you don’t name someone in your will, then the Court will choose your kids’ new family for you. However, there are three other documents that you want to have in place if you are a single parent. Medical Power of Attorney (or Advance Healthcare Directive) for yourself. If you get sick or injured and cannot…
I need to make a will, but…I’m embarrassed by my financial situation
This is something that no other attorney I know has talked about but that I have experienced in clients several times, and even felt myself! When you think about making a will, the first thing your mind goes to is your money. And, when you meet with an attorney, one of the first things they want to know is “how much is your estate worth?” And this is where it can get embarrassing. When you’re 30 or 40-something years old, you expect to be at a certain place in life when having a will makes a lot of sense. You always assumed that, by this point, you’d have a decent savings account or a house or multiple investment properties or college accounts for your kids… You thought that you’d have paid off all your student loans or that you’d be making enough money that you wouldn’t need to take out…
I need to make a will, but… I don’t really have that much stuff
This statement reveals one reason why so many people don’t make a will. There is this underlying belief that Wills are for wealthy people. That if we are just the “Average Joe,” we don’t really have enough stuff that would “qualify” us for the special privilege of making a will. So, let me be clear about this – ANYONE who has ANYTHING is worthy of having a will. Even if the only thing you own is the shirt on your back, you deserve to have a will and decide who you want to have that shirt when you die. Wills are not just for people with a lot of stuff. They are for anyone who CARES about the stuff they have. And, wills are not just about money! These days, the majority of a person’s wealth is wrapped up in their retirement accounts, which aren’t even included in or handled…
I need to make a will, but… I feel overwhelmed
I get it. I just searched Google for “make a will,” and I got 13,540,000,000 results. 13 BILLION results. Talk about overwhelming. There is so much information out there about making a will, which is great, but, as with anything on the internet, TOO MUCH information can be a bad thing. When it comes to making your will, I know that you want it to be as simple and straightforward as possible. And, I know you are busy and don’t have the time or energy to spend on this stuff! You’re working full-time and parenting little kids and trying to juggle schedules with your spouse and wondering when you’re supposed to deal with this… You don’t have time to read a dozen – let alone a billion – articles trying to figure out what information out there applies to you or what it means. And, chances are, if you were…
What do you mean by “estate planning”? Is it just for rich people?
Many people are intimidated or thrown off by the phrase “Estate Planning.” Most of us tend to think estate plans are only for the wealthy people of the world. I often hear clients say, “Well, we don’t really have an estate to plan!” But that’s probably not true! The word “estate” just means all the money and property owned by a person. In this sense, even a homeless person with a backpack technically has an “estate”! Of course, we generally use this term to describe what people have when they die, but, even so, nearly everyone owns something at the time of their death. So, no matter how little or how much you have, as long as it’s not nothing, you have an estate and may need to consider a plan for what will happen to it after you die. When attorneys and other professionals talk about “Estate Planning” what…
Signing your will during CoVid-19
When you realize that a will signing requires the testator (person signing the will), witnesses, and possibly a notary to all be in a room together at the same time, you may wonder how in the world you’re going to sign your will during the quarantine restrictions enacted due to CoVid-19. Because the consequences of a will are so significant, the law tries really hard to make sure that the person making the will is who they say they are and there is no fraud or identity theft involved. This is one of the reasons for the witnesses and a notary. These people are there to verify who the testator is and that the testator understands that the document they are signing is a will. This requirement helps protect wills from being deemed invalid and protects testators from being taken advantage of. However, when there’s a pandemic going around and…
What about free legal consultations?
Aren’t all legal consultations free? Nope! Not anymore! When I first started out as an attorney, I held legal consultations for free. After all, I thought, isn’t that what everyone does? It used to be that way, but, today, a majority of attorneys charge for legal consultations, even though they’re not giving out legal advice. A legal consultation is that first visit with an attorney when you explain to them what your legal problem is. At the point when you call their office, you may not even be sure if you really need a lawyer. That’s part of the problem! You don’t have enough information to know if you actually need legal help. Other times, you may feel certain that you need an attorney but you don’t know how to prepare for that first meeting so you can present your case in the best light. At a legal consultation, there…