By Shelley Elder, Estate and Probate Lawyer serving the North Atlanta metro area, including Bartow County, Cherokee County, Cobb County, Paulding County

Estate planning is the process of making plans while you are living for the distribution and disposal of your assets upon your death.  We all know that one day we all will die, but nobody likes to think about it.  If you don’t plan ahead, no matter the size of your estate, you are running the risk that your loved ones may not inherit what you want them to inherit.  You need to plan so that your loved ones can receive family heirlooms, money, or other assets when and how you want them to.  Sometimes people don’t think about what might happen if they have no estate plan – families could be torn apart by arguing over things, administrative costs might need to be borne by the estate and could decrease what you imagined that you would pass down to the next generation, or estate taxes could reduce your estate drastically.

At a minimum, your estate plan should include a Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care (Health Care Power of Attorney), a General Durable Power of Attorney (General Power of Attorney), and a Last Will and Testament (will).

The Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care allows you to choose a health care agent to make important decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself (such as if you are unconscious).  You will also choose a back-up health care agent.  With the Advance Directive, your agent can admit or discharge you from a hospital, skilled nursing facility, hospice or other health care facility, request, consent to, withhold, or withdraw any type of health care, and contract with a health care facility or service, and obligate you to pay for these services.

A General Durable Power of Attorney is an instrument allows you to authorize another person to act as your agent, who is called your attorney-in-fact. Your attorney-in-fact will be permitted to manage your real and personal property in the event that you cannot do so.  This Power of Attorney form is used when you are unable to make decisions, such as when you may be travelling out of state or out of the country, or if you become physically or mentally unable to handle your own affairs.

A Last Will and Testament is a document that will tell your survivors who gets what after you die.  In your will, you can also declare who will become guardian of your minor children, should you die.  You have the ability to change or revoke your will as long as you live.

In addition to the three instruments listed above, your situation may call for a trust.  You may read more about the benefits of different types of trusts –  revocable trusts, an irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, and marital trusts, to name a few – on the Elder Law Firm website.

Proper estate planning can save you time and money.  We look forward to assisting you with your plan.

Shelley Elder of Elder Law Firm meets with clients in the North Atlanta metro area, including Acworth, Cartersville, Dallas, Emerson, Kennesaw, Marietta, Powder Springs, Smyrna, Woodstock, and other communities in Bartow County, Cherokee County, Cobb County, and Paulding County.