Wills & Probate

We prepare family documents in sets to help people plan for their personal care during times of incapacity and for fair distribution of estate assets.

Our procedures to prepare documents are convenient to clients. We speak by phone with the clients a number of times and make drafts as needed for the clients' changes. They only need to come to the office to sign the documents after they have had them revised and finalized—with the clients reviewing the drafts at home without rush or distraction. Clients are welcome to have a special in-office appointment for an additional, reasonable hourly fee. 

To start our work, after a client calls, we send a letter about how the documents help in times of disability and for estate matters. When the fee check is received, we call the client to discuss in detail their specific wishes. We always try to prepare and mail the first document drafts in about two weeks, unless the documents are complicated with special provisions. 

For personal care during disability, we provide powers of attorney to name trusted family and friends who know the general wishes of their loved-one. In the powers of attorney, we can add provisions about funeral arrangements, since estates can be filed only with a death certificate, which can take a number of weeks to obtain. All persons should have a power-of-attorney for business as well as medical decisions during times of incapacity. Most hospital documents are only for medical affairs. Business affairs must be included for comprehensive planning.

For estate planning, we provide simple wills to help protect families from discord, confusion, and disruption at the death of a loved one who may be a foundational figure in the ongoing life of the family. Prior years of difficulty, especially in large families and between siblings and their spouses or stepchildren, can explode when family members become uncertain about the intentions of the loved one. Discord is usually ends when all family members understand what a testator wanted for their estate.

Stepchildren pose special estate issues. People are surprised to learn that when the parent of a stepchild dies, all of the children of the deceased parent share immediately in estate assets, which may be half of a widow’s furniture, television, and lawn mower. The spouse is the sole heir when all of the family children are the children of both parents. Wills are always needed to clarify the intentions of the deceased spouse when stepchildren are involved. Clarity is fairness for everyone in those families.