Do you have a plan for the future? Is it the right plan for you? Does it fit your needs and your life circumstances? Will it work effectively when you need it? These questions are essential to ask and answer. If you don't have a workable, sound plan in place, now is the time to act. Elder Law of East Tennessee can help. We take what is often a difficult and confusing process and offer a plan that will work for you and an explanation so that you can understand. We strive to give you as much flexibility as possible while keeping things straightforward and simple to handle.
Durable Health Care Power of Attorney and Living Wills
Have you encountered a situation where a critically ill family member is faced with life threatening decisions and is not able to communicate his wishes? The family gathers together and is faced with making extremely difficult decisions during times of intense emotional stress. The doctors ask what treatment should be provided or withheld. The ill family member never talked about her feelings regarding life support or end of life treatment. The family has little guidance and may feel burdened by the responsibility of making such a decision.
A Durable General Power of Attorney is a written document that authorizes an "Attorney in Fact" to act on your behalf. This document is different from a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney because this document concerns property and contract rights not health care or matters related to your person. The Durable General Power of Attorney conveys to your Attorney in Fact the powers and authority to handle all kinds of transactions on your behalf regarding your property, contracts, and benefits.
Probate is a legal court procedure in which the assets of a deceased person are passed to beneficiaries. The executor or personal representative of the estate gathers together the assets of the deceased person, pays creditors, and distributes the assets to the beneficiaries or heirs. If a resident dies in Tennessee owning property or having debts in in his individual name, it is often necessary for his survivors to do a probate proceeding. Probate proceedings are conducted in the county where the person resided at the time of death or where he or she owned real estate.
The Revocable Living Trust is a wonderfully flexible tool for estate planning, particularly if you own real estate in other states besides Tennessee. This kind of trust can reduce the inconvenience and expense of probate administration. Assets properly titled to the trust or via contract designations pass through this trust rather than your probate estate.
