Do you have what it takes ... to protect your family? According to Steve Wolterman of Wolterman Law Office, having an estate plan in place is key to making sure your intentions for your loved ones’ futures are carried out.
Q: What kind of core documents should you have in place to ensure your family is protected?
A: The most important would be to establish an estate plan that includes documents like last will and testaments, trusts, financial/medical powers of attorney and living wills. Core estate documents will look different from family to family, but you should start with the idea of putting the simplest estate plan possible in place—usually that means the documents above minus a trust.
Q: Why does a family need these sorts of documents?
A: You have to look at estate and business succession planning as one of the most important, final gifts you can make to your loved ones. It deserves and requires clear instructions and thought—it’s a terrible outcome when people pass away without anything in place, and their assets don’t go to whom they want, or worse, go to people with whom the deceased would never have left anything.
Q: How often do they need to be updated?
A: It depends, but usually not too often. Things like death, divorce, buying a new house—those are occurrences that usually require some changes.
Q: How do you go about getting these documents?
A: It’s as easy as giving our office a call or sending us an email requesting a no-charge consultation. Although most people assume they’ll start incurring significant costs each time they call an attorney with a question, that’s not the case with us. We’re a small firm with two attorneys—but we’re well versed and experienced with a broad range of matters. We’ll discuss a strategy and decide whether to move forward.
WoltermanLaw.com | 434 W. Loveland Ave. | 513.964.2589