What’s Love Got to Do With It?
I hear many heart breaking stories from well-meaning family members that had every intention of setting up a trust, a financial or health care power of attorney or Will and well…..they just never got around to it. Year after year, one Valentine’s day after the next they put it off. These couples had other places to go and many projects to pursue together but sadly, setting up an estate plan was never one of them.
It’s usually more expensive and a lot more stressful when the remaining spouse has to navigate the journey alone. They come into my office. They wonder if they are doing the right thing and I have to break the bad news. Their assets aren’t properly titled and need to go through the probate process or since their spouse has lost capacity after their stroke or auto accident and they didn’t have a Power of Attorney in place, the family now has to pursue the long and expensive road to guardianship. These legal issues could have easily been avoided.
I recently had a wonderful man in my office who had never married and never had children. His desire was to leave thousands of dollars to each of his employees who built his business and so we created a trust that would do just that. Now that is love! Love isn’t just between spouses, love is showing others that you care enough to make arrangements so your grieving family and friends won’t be burdened with the financial fallout of trying to figure out what you would have wanted!
Your estate plan is a fairly simple process: you fill out our questionnaire, pay the fee and have a quick signing ceremony in our office. Once it’s done you can sit back and relax knowing everything is in place.
So go out tonight, enjoy your dinner and box of chocolates, but do yourself a favor and plan ahead. Put it on the calendar to set up an estate plan for the ones you love. They’ll be grateful you did and it’s one of the best ways to demonstrate just how much you care.
Happy Valentines Day! From all of us at Drizin Law.
Drizin Law is providing this information for educational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion as to any specific facts or circumstances. This information is based on general principles of Nevada law at the time it was created and you should be aware laws frequently change. Moreover, the laws affecting you may differ depending on the circumstances. You should consult with a qualified attorney in your own state or jurisdiction concerning your particular situation. Review of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship.
