Wills

This area of law forms part of your broader estate planning, but focuses on the more straightforward matters of preparing and executing three important documents  —  your Will, your Enduring power of Attorney and your Personal Directive. 

Will: Your Will comes into effect only upon your death.  It states who will administer your Estate upon your death, it can name a Guardian for any children under the age of 18, and it directs how, when and to whom your Estate’s assets will be distributed. 

Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA):  With this document you are appointing someone to make financial decisions and handle financial matters (including even simple matters such as bill paying) for you in the event that you become mentally or physically unable to do so for yourself.  Contrary to what many believe, a spouse or parent or adult child does not automatically have the authority to take over these responsibilities and many difficulties arise when consideration of this fact is left until it’s too late for you to be able to legally make such an appointment.  If you have lost your capacity to handle these matters, this document will be required by banks, investment companies, and most other organizations you have financial dealings with, including any company you pay bills to.

Personal Directive (PD):   Commonly referred to by many as a “living will”, the Personal Directive is the document which appoints someone responsible for your “personal  care” decisions  —  that is, all decisions other than financial ones — when you have lost the mental capacity to do so for yourself.  As with the EPA, no-one automatically has the authority to do this for you.  You must appoint them legally.  This document gives your Agent relatively broad powers in dealing with your personal issues, including medical care decisions, where you live and with whom you can associate.  This is also where you can make other wishes known, such as the degree of life-saving and/or life-sustaining measures you want.

The most important factor with regards to all three of these essential documents is that they MUST be done before you lose the mental capacity to do so.  If they are not in place, your family will be required to apply to the Courts for guardianship &/or trusteeship in order to look after your affairs, subjecting them to a potentially long, expensive and painful process at a time when you need them the most.

At Martinson & Harder, those practicing in this field are:

Douglas S. Martinson

Daniel C. Harder

Sandra J. Skrypnek

Aaron V. Robertson

Andrea J. Forhan