I’ve done a lot of posts on this blog talking about powers of attorney in North Carolina, what they are, why they are important, and why you need to have one. I’ve even talked about some of the pitfalls and mistakes people make with powers of attorney. I’ve had a number of clients recently that have made some mistakes when it comes to their powers of attorney. And right now I’m in the midst of filing a guardianship for one client because of a faulty power of attorney. The bottom line is that these mistakes are easily avoided with proper legal […]
Guardianship
The Three P’s of Estate Planning
Whether you are just starting to think about putting together an estate plan, or you need to change one that you already have, it is helpful to think of estate planning in terms of the “three p’s”. What are the Three P’s of Estate Planning? Put simply, the three p’s of estate planning are the people and property that you need to include in your plan, as well as the plan that you put together to deal with them. To help make this more clear, let’s discuss these one at a time. People that you care about As you start […]
How to Choose a Guardian for Your Children
One of the common frustrations I’ve heard from other parents that don’t have an estate plan in place is that they don’t know how to choose a guardian for their children. As a result, they don’t pick anyone, and they fail to put a plan in place. Needless to say, this is a big problem. Remember when you were younger and you took the SAT? Back then, if you got to a question that you didn’t know the answer to, you guessed because if you left it blank, you didn’t get any points. But if you guessed right, you got credit […]
A True Gift for Your Family… The Legacy Conversation
I’ve been very open about the fact that my mother died last January. I still remember the last “real” conversation I had with her. I was getting my tires changed and picking my car up from the shop. It was around New Years, and I let her know that I had planned to fly home in a couple of weeks to visit her with my oldest son and that I would be coming back again in February with my daughter. Aside from updating her about my travel plans, I wanted to check in because I knew that she wasn’t feeling […]
The Simple Guide to Using Trusts in Estate Planning
I get the sense from talking to many families and a lot of lawyers too, that most people are confused by trusts and aren’t sure whether they need to use trusts in estate planning. Depending on who you ask, you will typically get a different answer. So for purposes of today’s post, I want a step back and discuss what exactly a trust is, and then we’ll take a look at some of the reasons you may or may not want to use a trust when crafting your estate plan. What is a Trust? In it’s simplest form, a trust […]
Cary Estate Planning Law Firm
How Can We Help YOU to Protect Your Family and Pass on Your Legacy? Do You know who would take care of and support your children and other loved ones if you unexpectedly passed away or became incapacitated? You probably have at least a general idea of who would take custody of your kids, but does that person have the legal right to take custody of your children? In other words, would the police have the legal authority to transfer the care of your children, who you love more than anything, to that person or would they be forced to […]
Life Insurance and Estate Planning… Like Peanut Butter and Jelly
Life Insurance and Estate Planning go together perfectly. You really can’t (or shouldn’t) have one without the other. Just like peanut butter and jelly… and I love me a good PB&J… yum. But until about 6 years ago, I had never given life insurance (or estate planning) much thought. My Wife’s Grandfather was a career New York Life Agent, so she had brought up the topic of buying life insurance a few times, but it never went anywhere. Then a couple of things happened. First, we got pregnant with our first child. Knowing that we were soon going to be […]
Choosing a Guardian for Your Children… What You Need to Know
Many parents I first talk to don’t know the first thing about choosing a guardian for their kids. And frankly, why would you? We all believe that we are going to live forever and our kids would never need to have a guardian appointed to take care of them. But this is one of the hardest choices for my clients to make. Why Is Choosing a Guardian Such a Hard Choice? As parents, you love your children immensely. More than pretty much anything, and anyone I would guess. And you would do anything for your kids, right? I know that […]
