For those with more modest estates or who would not benefit from a revocable living trust we offer a basic estate planning package which includes the 3 essential documents: will, durable power of attorney and advance medical directive.

A will is a written instrument by which one specifies the distribution of his or her property at death and names an executor to handle the estate upon death.

A power of attorney is a document authorized by a person, called the "principal", that grants legal authority to another person, the "agent", to act on behalf of the principal. A power of attorney could authorize the agent to write checks, sell property, file tax returns, etc. Under a "durable" power of attorney, the principal authorizes the agent to make decisions on his or her behalf in the event the principal is incapacitated. These actions of the agent may be under authorized under all circumstances (a general power) or under specific circumstances (a limited power).

In other words, a will takes care of post-death distribution and matters, whereas a power of attorney provides for certain actions during one's lifetime or one's legal incompetency. Lastly, an advance medical directive, also known as a living will, is a written instrument by which one declares certain preferences regarding their medical care and natural death. In this regard, one can choose to vest that power of decision in a third party or reserve it unto oneself.

The preparation of a will requires certain essential information:

1. First, one must establish the beneficiaries of the will. Typically, a testator (the one who has written the will) will give everything to his or her spouse, if living, and everything to children if not (e.g. a simultaneous death or should the spouse not survive the testator). My standard will provides trust provisions for minor children. This is important, because without a minor's trust then any property or money willed to a minor will be held by the courts -- specifically the clerk of court. Access to this money is limited, and one has to hire an attorney for all practical purposes to get access to any of it.
2. Second, one needs to determine who the fiduciaries will be under the will. The fiduciaries are the executor, the trustee and if applicable because of minor children, a guardian or custodian of the children. The executor is the person who will probate and administer the will, manage the assets of the estate and ensure that all distributions under the will are properly made. The trustee is the person who will administer and manage the monies given in trust for the benefit of the children, for example. And finally, a guardian or custodian is someone who will actually raise your minor children if your preference is expressed in the will and accepted by the court, which it usually is.

Benefits of a Revocable Living Trust (RLT):

1. Avoidance of probate upon death (including multiple probates if you own property in other states)
2. Prevent court control of assets at incapacity (avoids court appointed guardianship requirement)
3. Provides for a quicker distribution of assets to beneficiaries upon death
4. Assets can remain in trust until you want the beneficiaries to inherit
5. Can reduce or eliminate estate taxes (depending on size of estate)
6. Inexpensive, easy to set up an maintain
7. Fully revocable: provisions can be changes or cancelled at any time
8. Difficult to contest
9. Prevents the courts from controlling minor's inheritances (you name trustee)
10. Can protect dependents with special needs
11. Saving of money by the estate by avoiding court/probate fees, attorneys fees and commissioner fees when administering the estate
12. Maximizes Privacy: no court filed documents that become public record

1. Revocable Living Trust
2. Guide to the Trust (includes funding instructions)
3. Certificate of Trust by Attorney
4. Assignment of personal property to trust
5. Pour over will
6. Durable Power of Attorney
7. Advance Medical Directive

A trust should be funded immediately (or as soon as possible) upon execution. The trust can only provide the benefits enumerated above and have control over the assets that have been transferred to it. An unfunded trust is of no more benefit than a simple will. Please do not waste your hard earned money and time by making this all too common mistake.

How do I fund my Trust?

Your attorney, trust officer (if you have a corporate trustee), financial advisor, insurance agent and bank representative can all help.

First, you'll need to change titles on all real estate (both in and out of state) that you own. As part of the services we offer we also prepare deeds to transfer (fund) real property to trusts. Deeds are not included in our standard RLT package fees and are an additional $75 per deed, plus applicable recording fees.

Second, you'll need to change the title on all other assets that have formal titles, ie. savings, stocks, bonds, CD's, investment accounts, etc.. You'll also need to change the beneficiary designations on same assets (like life insurance). Tax deferred savings plans such as IRA's and 401k's are exceptions. There may be valid reasons for you to name your spouse as the primary beneficiary and your trust as the Contingent (second) beneficiary.

It will take some time to properly fund your trust, but keep in mind that what you are doing now will save your estate from paying courts and attorneys to do it later. Also, who knows better than you what you own, where all the paperwork is located and who to contact. And if there is a problem with a title to an asset, isn't it better to know now and get it corrected rather than to have your estate try to resolve it after your death without your help?

Believe me, your family will greatly appreciate that you took the time to organize all your assets under one plan, with one set of instructions.

Other information and considerations when planning your estate:

• Probate tax (in Virginia) in and of itself is approximately one hundred dollars per one hundred thousand of value of the total estate.
• Under current law, one need not consider federal or state estate tax considerations unless one's estate exceeds the current unified credit equivalent, which is the applicable exclusion amount of $1,500,000.00, which is increasing in incremental, but not linear, steps to three and a half million dollars in 2009.
• One need not name lawyers as fiduciaries of your estate. I usually recommend that a spouse serve with a friend or family member as an alternate so that any money which is spent to hire lawyers or the like can be controlled by the persons receiving the money. And in the average estate one need not spend much on professional help if at all.