I am Clarke Kent Wittstruck, an Asheville family law attorney and, for over 20 years, as part of my practice I have prepared simple Wills and administered modest Estates - those not subject to federal taxation - for my clients. One of my goals with this site is to provide potential clients with as much information as possible to help them determine if I am the right lawyer for them. If you have perused the Bankruptcy section of this website, you know I like the Nolo Press publications. So I've decided to use them again in this section. The main difference this time is the Nolo folks will try to sell you on the idea of making your Will on line. Fair enough - the competition forces me to work harder to provide a better product. So I do not object to this from a consumer viewpoint - the assembly and creation of a Will actually takes me only a few seconds on a computer once I know what you need. But I find the computerized assembly is only a minor part of the process. Instead, what most people want and need when they come to my office, is for me to push them to deal with multiple contingencies - such as if a child predeceases, or they become incompetent, or they must go into a nursing home, etc. - face up to what lies ahead and form a workable plan.
Don't Leave A Mess; Don't Leave A Dispute. I represent lots of different people. Some are wealthy; most are not. I tell them all the same thing: they are going to die. And when they do what they should aim for is this: don't leave a mess and don't leave a dispute. And a Will can help accomplish this. The important perspective to understand is that a Will is for your survivors, not you. It is to help your survivors locate, divide, distribution and dispose of your property. And it is to help them avoid a dispute over what you intended to happen to your property. Folks come in to talk to me and I tease them about their current "mess" - from the lack of a burial/cremation plan to the ancient stuff they have in their attic. More than focus them on what will happen upon their death, I want to focus them on what their situation is right now, and what mess they might leave if killed in a car accident leaving my office. You don't have a cremation plan? Ok, that's another mess you will leave which must be dealt with in a hurry. You don't have a list of your assets/accounts? Ok, you are leaving your heirs to fumble around in the dark looking for assets which may or may not exist. You don't have a power of attorney? Ok, who has the authority to check you into and arrange payment for the nursing home when you have a stroke and don't know what day of the week it is? Your failure to plan will cost your survivors not only time but a great deal more money. It may also cause your survivors to bicker over who gets what and whether the division is fair or what you really wanted, etc - just what you wanted to avoid. So depending on the dynamics of your family/survivors, you may be opening up your property division to court review as the survivors fight over who gets what. Such disputes are messy and emotional. And any time the dispute is emotional it is lucrative for the lawyers. The point is such a dispute is almost completely avoidable if you will simply address your situation now while we have you to ask if there is a question. Because when you're gone, your voice goes with you. And when your voice goes, there is no one left to speak clearly about what you wanted if you have not taken the time to organize your affairs and write your intentions down in a Will.
Death & Taxes. At the beginning of 2012, the Estate Tax is scheduled to undergo a substantial change essentially lowering the threshold for taxes on inheritance to $1M from the current $3.5M. Most folks do not have 3.5 million in assets, but you might have a million in assets, depending on various things, especially the value of your house. There is lots of talk about how the government will probably change the law and limit the tax to estates above the 3 million mark, but there is also a lot of talk about the government needing every dime it can get to pay for new huge undertakings and existing commitments, like Social Security. So you need to understand your "bounty" - what your assets are really worth - so you can decide how best deal with the possibility of greater estate taxation in the future.
Elder Care. Elder care issues usually involve planning for a time when you will no longer be competent to make decisions on your own. These range from dementia, nursing homes, guardianships, trusts, power of attorney, assisted living, and especially Medicaid and Medicare. It's always better if you are doing the planning for yourself while there is still time to competently attend to business. But what is more often the case it's your children sitting in my interview room wanting to know what to do and who to turn to. You've left a mess: limited options and cumbersome court proceedings giving those who have the responsibility of caring for you the legal ability to do so. One day you may wake up and not recognize your care giver because your mind is slipping away slowly. This is hard enough on the people who love and care for you. Don't add to this by making them sort through your care options as well. So make a plan. My job is to point you in the right directions and, ultimately, push you to timely make the decisions you need to make so not to unduly burden your potential care givers.
Tomorrow May Never Come. There is much to be said for living each day like it it's your last. But few people do this. Instead they believe, deep down, an exception will be made for them. Doubtful. But as a result their financial affairs go unorganized and scattered and the mess they have today will be left for the tomorrow which did not come. So, if nothing else, a Will may help you focus your mind a bit in this regard. And if you leave a mess, this is great for a lawyer like me - I get paid to clean it up. But I've yet to have a client who was thrilled by the prospect of leaving money for the lawyer instead of their loved ones. Besides the answer is really simple: just do it. If you like the idea of preparing a Will on the internet, fine. Just do it. If you are interested in me helping you sort through your options, click here to set up an appointment.