Living Will Attorney

It is often quoted that in the UK around 60% of the population have not written a Last Will & Testament to safeguard their wishes when they are no longer around. There are many reasons why people people put off writing such an important document ranging from being unsure as to exactly how to write this, what to write & deciding who gets what. Apathy is also a key contributor to these statistics as many people openly admit to just putting things off to a later day.

However for those that have already written a Will, simply signing this and storing it away is not the best practise. A Will should be reviewed every few years as clear consideration must be given to whether your current financial, family or personal situation are still reflected in the your existing document.

Apart from just a simple change of wishes common reasons for needing to change a Will could be that someone named in the original will has passed away. You or a family member may have married, divorced, remarried or widowed. There may be additions to the family, the value of your assets/estate may have increased or decreased or a witness to your original will may died or can’t be located.

Making a change to Will is not as straightforward as just amending the original document, as legally any changes must be again be witnessed and resigned. There are various options available to someone who wants to update a Will. One option is adding a ‘Codicil’, which is a separate piece of paper which outlines the change in wishes and must then be resigned and witnessed and then attached to the existing Will. Although this is a simple and easy way to do this, it is really only advisable if you wish to change one specific section of the Will. There have been cases where a Codicil has been misplaced or lost thus meaning the most recent wishes of the deceased are lost and not acted upon when day comes for the Will to be read.

Apart from using a Codicil most Legal advisors / Will writers will advise that the safest way to change a will is to simply write a new one as any new will that is written and singed will make any previous void and obsolete.

Changes in circumstances mean that some people may wish to change their Will anything up to 5 or 6 time during their lifetime and to write a new Will every time can be sometime be costly and times consuming but in the long run well worth the effort. A Will should ideally be reviewed every 5 years just to make sure that circumstances have changed.

There are now services available online which can save a lot of time and money when a Will needs updating. A copy of your original Will is stored in an electronic document format so when a change is required the user can log on with their account details - make the required changes and thereafter print a copy of the revised will ready for signing.

It is often quoted that in the UK around 60% of the population have not written a Last Will & Testament to safeguard their wishes when they are no longer around. There are many reasons why people people put off writing such an important document ranging from being unsure as to exactly how to write this, what to write & deciding who gets what. Apathy is also a key contributor to these statistics as many people openly admit to just putting things off to a later day.

However for those that have already written a Will, simply signing this and storing it away is not the best practise. A Will should be reviewed every few years as clear consideration must be given to whether your current financial, family or personal situation are still reflected in the your existing document.

Apart from just a simple change of wishes common reasons for needing to change a Will could be that someone named in the original will has passed away. You or a family member may have married, divorced, remarried or widowed. There may be additions to the family, the value of your assets/estate may have increased or decreased or a witness to your original will may died or can’t be located.

Making a change to Will is not as straightforward as just amending the original document, as legally any changes must be again be witnessed and resigned. There are various options available to someone who wants to update a Will. One option is adding a ‘Codicil’, which is a separate piece of paper which outlines the change in wishes and must then be resigned and witnessed and then attached to the existing Will. Although this is a simple and easy way to do this, it is really only advisable if you wish to change one specific section of the Will. There have been cases where a Codicil has been misplaced or lost thus meaning the most recent wishes of the deceased are lost and not acted upon when day comes for the Will to be read.

Apart from using a Codicil most Legal advisors / Will writers will advise that the safest way to change a will is to simply write a new one as any new will that is written and singed will make any previous void and obsolete.

Changes in circumstances mean that some people may wish to change their Will anything up to 5 or 6 time during their lifetime and to write a new Will every time can be sometime be costly and times consuming but in the long run well worth the effort. A Will should ideally be reviewed every 5 years just to make sure that circumstances have changed.

There are now services available online which can save a lot of time and money when a Will needs updating. A copy of your original Will is stored in an electronic document format so when a change is required the user can log on with their account details - make the required changes and thereafter print a copy of the revised will ready for signing.

It appears that only about 50% of people over the age of thirty years of age have written a will. If you haven’t written a will then your estate (property, shares, cash, pets, etc.,) could either end up in the hands of the state or take years to reach the intended beneficiaries. If you die without having made a will, then your estate will be subject to Intestacy rules. To avoid this it is vital that you take the time to write a will.

The most important and basic fact for a will to be a legally binding document is that it needs to be written down. It can be typed, printed from a computer or hand written but it does need to be in written format. All those films and TV shows that use video wills as a dramatic device are misleading. Unless the wishes expressed in a video or audio recording are backed up in a written format then they are not legally enforceable.

You can purchase will forms from most stationary shops or download them from various places on the internet. Once you have written out your desires for your estate you must then sign the will to authenticate that these are your wishes. It is recommended that you use the same signature that you use for you credit cards and bank accounts. This signature will be stored in a variety of places and is therefore easy to check.

Once you have signed your will then it is required in law to have it witnessed by at least two people. Both witnessed must be there to see the will signed or together when you present the will to them. It cannot be witnessed by one or other of the witnesses in isolation from the other. If the will contains more than one page then each individual page requires a number and a signature from you and your witnesses.

The witnesses do not need to see the content of the will but they do need to see your signature. It is the signature that they are witnessing and not the content of the will itself. Both the witnesses need to over the age of eighteen in order for the will to be legally binding.

The witness must include a printed version of their name after they have signed. They must also include their address, occupation and marital status. To avoid the possibility of issues arising after your death it is best to exclude any beneficiaries and their spouses and the executor of the will from acting as witnesses. It is not illegal but it could complicate matters if anyone wished to challenge the will once you have died.

Wills are simple to complete but the more complex tax and trust fund issues should be dealt with by a legal trained professional. It is vitally important that you get the correct advice to ensure that your legacy can be executed in the way in want.

Tony Heywood ©

Over the years, a number of our clients have expressed interest in ways to better protect their family. They may have taken steps to avoid probate and manage their investments during their lifetime as well as to minimize income, estate and gift taxes. However, many families are also concerned about making sure those inheritances last for the long term. In a world with high divorce rates and increasing numbers of lawsuits, asset protection and preservation is a critical concern for everyone. Many families would like to see their children and grandchildren’s inheritance grow with a sound investment strategy and be protected from divorce, lawsuits and claims of creditors.

Along with customized trust and estate planning documents, Independent Trustees and Trust Protectors can enhance a family’s asset protection strategy so that they will not lose their inheritance to predators and creditors.

Why an Independent Trustee?

Most people who have established a trust chose a family member as a successor Trustee to manage and distribute assets if they become disabled or pass away. A family member is an excellent choice for responsive management and understanding of family dynamics and circumstances, but most people know very little about the asset protection, investment, tax, accounting and fiduciary responsibilities of a Trustee.

A family member Trustee who is inexperienced with legal, tax and financial matters may inadvertently make mistakes or omissions that can create personal liability. They may even mismanage and deplete the funds for the beneficiaries of the trust. Family conflict can develop and legal fees, along with lower investment returns can destroy a hard earned family legacy.

Asset Protection

Better long term strategies may include a Trust that continues to manage your tax, legal, investment and asset protection planning objectives after you are gone, and as a result can provide significant advantages to your children and grandchildren. As the trust was created by you, and not a ’self settled’ trust created by your beneficiaries for their own benefit, the assets in the trust are less vulnerable to your children or grandchildren’s creditors (including lawsuit creditors and divorced spouses). However, in order to maximize asset protection of the Trust for children or grandchildren, an Independent Trustee should serve on the Trust.

The Independent Trustee will significantly enhance asset protection. If there is no Independent Trustee the assets of the trust could be exposed to bankruptcy, divorce, lawsuits and other creditors. If there is an Independent Trustee provided for under the terms of the Trust, asset protection is significantly improved. If you wish to leave a safe, secure inheritance, consider appointing an Independent Trustee to protect your family.

Investment Protection

One of the most overlooked duties of a Trustee is to manage all the Trust assets and investments to ensure that they remain productive and available for the beneficiaries as required by the terms of the Trust. Few Trusts have specific instructions for how a Trustee should manage and invest assets. Even if the Trust does include specific instructions, the Trustee must have the investment knowledge, or better yet, know how to find the investment expertise to manage Trust assets so that the Trustee can satisfy their fiduciary responsibilities.

While a Trustee does not have to personally oversee each aspect of the investment process, they are the overall manager of the process. It is a fiduciary who may be personally liable if the Trust’s investments are too risky and funds are lost or if the Trust’s investments are too conservative and the income stream provided by the Trust does not keep up with inflation. As long as there is a professional who plans and manages the investment so they meet the objectives of the Trust then the duty to manage and invest assets will be satisfied. For more information on an investment process that meets these criteria, please contact our office.

An independent Trustee with a solid understanding of the investment process is a resource to assist the family member Trustee in guiding the investment process as well as a way to make sure that the Trustee fiduciary duties are fulfilled while the investments are better managed.

What is a Trust Protector?

In addition to an independent Trustee, the Trust Protector is an important role to ensure that the Trust continues to meet its objectives as changes occur. A Trust Protector may be an individual or a group of individuals or corporations, including your Attorney, Accountant or a Trust Company. They are appointed in advance as a part of a Trust and they serve in their role when the Trust becomes irrevocable due to your death or disability. The Trust Protector is usually authorized to monitor and then fire or replace non-family member Trustees if they become ineffective and to amend a Trust that is otherwise irrevocable if legal changes, IRS opinions or scriveners’ error have made it impossible for the Trustees’ to fulfill your original wishes and intent. If a change is needed in an otherwise irrevocable Trust document, the Trust protector is in a position to make the change.

When you pass away, your Trust becomes Irrevocable and the provisions cannot be changed. However that does not mean there will be no changes in tax law or family circumstances. By naming a trust protector in your Revocable Living Trust you take steps to preserve your original intent, minimize the impact of taxes in particular the generation skipping transfer tax as assets pass from your children to your grandchildren and allow your family the flexibility it needs.

As you consider your estate planning alternatives, keep in mind the asset protection and planning advantages of making Independent Trustees and Trust Protectors a part of your family’s team.

We all get sick at some time or another and the older we get the more things go wrong with our state of health. We can not turn back the hands of time but we can do something to make sure that in the event that we are seriously injured, or sick in such a way that we are not able to speak in our own behalf, our best wishes and desires for treatment will be carried out to the fullest meeting our demands. This is one of the best ways to remain in control even when you yourself are out of action. Yes today we will learn about an important legal document known as a living will. Living will registry can only be understood by understanding what a living will is, what benefits a living will brings, and how we can register. Lets go and explore this interesting and exciting world of the living will. then maybe we can find the information we need to register to get one.

This kind of will is easiest to understand when it is broken down into two distinct parts. The first part is living. Back in the old western golden years wills where only made for dead or dying people therefore the term this is my last will and testament came to be. In this word combination however living means just that living or alive. So this will will be fully active while you are living in advance of your death. so if you are not dead but still helpless this document will be taken into consideration. The will of course is the legal document that makes your wishes mandatory to be carried out in the event of your death. Put these two words together and you have got yourself some protection just in case you are not able to inform people of what your wishes are while you are alive. Like if you are involved in a serious accident and are left brain dead.

Now that you know what a living will is though let us find out what a living will does for us that is so great. For one thing it protects our wishes ad our rights even when we can not stand up for ourselves. This is very important because with danger ever rising we never know when we may need something to stand up for us and our wishes when we are not able to.

There are many ways to register to get one and doing research can be an easy way to find a registering service.

It is often quoted that in the UK around 60% of the population have not written a Last Will & Testament to safeguard their wishes when they are no longer around. There are many reasons why people people put off writing such an important document ranging from being unsure as to exactly how to write this, what to write & deciding who gets what. Apathy is also a key contributor to these statistics as many people openly admit to just putting things off to a later day.

However for those that have already written a Will, simply signing this and storing it away is not the best practise. A Will should be reviewed every few years as clear consideration must be given to whether your current financial, family or personal situation are still reflected in the your existing document.

Apart from just a simple change of wishes common reasons for needing to change a Will could be that someone named in the original will has passed away. You or a family member may have married, divorced, remarried or widowed. There may be additions to the family, the value of your assets/estate may have increased or decreased or a witness to your original will may died or can’t be located.

Making a change to Will is not as straightforward as just amending the original document, as legally any changes must be again be witnessed and resigned. There are various options available to someone who wants to update a Will. One option is adding a ‘Codicil’, which is a separate piece of paper which outlines the change in wishes and must then be resigned and witnessed and then attached to the existing Will. Although this is a simple and easy way to do this, it is really only advisable if you wish to change one specific section of the Will. There have been cases where a Codicil has been misplaced or lost thus meaning the most recent wishes of the deceased are lost and not acted upon when day comes for the Will to be read.

Apart from using a Codicil most Legal advisors / Will writers will advise that the safest way to change a will is to simply write a new one as any new will that is written and singed will make any previous void and obsolete.

Changes in circumstances mean that some people may wish to change their Will anything up to 5 or 6 time during their lifetime and to write a new Will every time can be sometime be costly and times consuming but in the long run well worth the effort. A Will should ideally be reviewed every 5 years just to make sure that circumstances have changed.

There are now services available online which can save a lot of time and money when a Will needs updating. A copy of your original Will is stored in an electronic document format so when a change is required the user can log on with their account details - make the required changes and thereafter print a copy of the revised will ready for signing.

It is often quoted that in the UK around 60% of the population have not written a Last Will & Testament to safeguard their wishes when they are no longer around. There are many reasons why people people put off writing such an important document ranging from being unsure as to exactly how to write this, what to write & deciding who gets what. Apathy is also a key contributor to these statistics as many people openly admit to just putting things off to a later day.

However for those that have already written a Will, simply signing this and storing it away is not the best practise. A Will should be reviewed every few years as clear consideration must be given to whether your current financial, family or personal situation are still reflected in the your existing document.

Apart from just a simple change of wishes common reasons for needing to change a Will could be that someone named in the original will has passed away. You or a family member may have married, divorced, remarried or widowed. There may be additions to the family, the value of your assets/estate may have increased or decreased or a witness to your original will may died or can’t be located.

Making a change to Will is not as straightforward as just amending the original document, as legally any changes must be again be witnessed and resigned. There are various options available to someone who wants to update a Will. One option is adding a ‘Codicil’, which is a separate piece of paper which outlines the change in wishes and must then be resigned and witnessed and then attached to the existing Will. Although this is a simple and easy way to do this, it is really only advisable if you wish to change one specific section of the Will. There have been cases where a Codicil has been misplaced or lost thus meaning the most recent wishes of the deceased are lost and not acted upon when day comes for the Will to be read.

Apart from using a Codicil most Legal advisors / Will writers will advise that the safest way to change a will is to simply write a new one as any new will that is written and singed will make any previous void and obsolete.

Changes in circumstances mean that some people may wish to change their Will anything up to 5 or 6 time during their lifetime and to write a new Will every time can be sometime be costly and times consuming but in the long run well worth the effort. A Will should ideally be reviewed every 5 years just to make sure that circumstances have changed.

There are now services available online which can save a lot of time and money when a Will needs updating. A copy of your original Will is stored in an electronic document format so when a change is required the user can log on with their account details - make the required changes and thereafter print a copy of the revised will ready for signing.