Probate Court Supervision
The Probate Court serves a very important function. It
supervises the administration of an estate of someone who has
died. If you choose to avoid probate, you may have eliminated
certain costs, but, at the same time, you have lost the benefits of
Probate Court supervision. Avoidance of probate may not make
sense in situations in which the probate process would help to
resolve family disputes by involving a probate judge to supervise
the process.
Another benefit of the probate process is that the Probate
Court reviews the administration fees. Accordingly, if a beneficiary
has a question or concern about the fees charged, he or she is able
to raise the issue at the time the account is presented to the court.
Advance Directives
A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care/Living
Will is a state-specific document (each state will have different
provisions). The Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
portion is the document in which you designate someone
(called an attorney-in-fact or agent) to make health care decisions for you if you become incapable of making such decisions.
It is only“activated”if you become incompetent. The health
care decisions that the attorney-in-fact would make include
the release of medical information, the selection of doctors,
placement in a nursing home or medical facility, the authorization or termination of surgical procedures, or the removal of
feeding tubes and other life-sustaining procedures. You can also
state your wish to be an organ donor or to donate your body
for medical research. The Living Will portion of the document permits you to avoid unnecessarily prolonging of your
life in situations in which you do not wish to be kept alive by
life support systems when there is no hope for your recovery as
determined by two physicians, one of whom is your own. It is a
backup to the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.
The HIPAA Release (Designation of Personal Representative and Authorization to Release Health Information) is the
authorization for your named personal representatives (often
your health care agents) to obtain your health care information which is protected under federal law (the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act–HIPAA). This authorization
is effective immediately and may be used separately from your
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.
The Durable General Power of Attorney (for financial
matters) is the document in which you designate someone
(called an attorney-in-fact or agent) to make financial and other
decisions not related to health care for you if you become incapable of making such decisions.
Given the substantial changes in federal tax laws, you may
have significant estate planning issues to consider. Although taxes
play a role in virtually every estate plan, they are secondary to
accomplishing your goal of providing for the f