Estate Planning

The Cleaver Law Office

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Estate Planning

Certified Elder Law Attorney
By National Elder Law Foundation

Members of Ohio and Florida Bars

Planning for the Future

Through your efforts and initiative during your working years, you have accumulated assets–
real estate, cash, stocks, bonds, retirement funds, personal property - which is your estate.

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Estate planning helps you define the steps you must take to preserve your estate during your lifetime and provide for the orderly transfer of what you own after death. Estate planning can also help to minimize taxes, maximize estate preservation after death, insure that your heirs and survivors receive what you want and expect them to have, and also provide for lifetime management of your estate in the event you become incapacitated.
Your plan should involve the preparation of documents individualized to your needs and may include:
	Wills – Trusts
	General Durable Power of Attorney
	Health Care Directives, i.e., Living Will, Health Care Power of Attorney In addition, your plan may include gifting to family or charities, providing care for a disabled child or spouse, special arrangements for a second marriage, protecting assets for minor children or providing a fund for education for the next generation. As your attorneys, Sandra and Sue will work with you to design a plan to meet your needs and the needs of your family through the years.

WILLS

General Distribution

You may wish to use percentages when distributing assets to multiple beneficiaries who are not to be equal beneficiaries. If a gift to a person or organization is a small gift such as a $1,000, percentages would not be necessary. However by using percentages you assure that all of the beneficiaries you wish to benefit will receive something whether the amount left in your estate is a large amount or a small amount.

Your Will can also direct what happens to items of personal property, your pets, or make specific gifts to charity.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

The Durable General Power of Attorney is commonly used to give full, broad authority to another person to act in your behalf with regard to all matters related to personal financial or business affairs. The person that you choose to be your agent on the Power of Attorney is called an attorney-in-fact and should be someone who is completely trusted by you to act in your best interests. Unfortunately, the Power of Attorney is a document that has been subject to much abuse by persons who use them as an opportunity to benefit themselves. If you do not have a Financial Power of Attorney in place, the Probate Court will appoint a Guardian to handle your affairs and oversee every aspect of what the Guardian does in order to help protect you from the abuses that may arise in the use of a Power of Attorney which is not subject to any court oversight.

The Medical Power of Attorney is most commonly referred to as a Health Care Power of Attorney in Ohio. This is a standardized form that is available free of charge to you through your doctor or hospital. This form designates another person to make medical decisions for you when you can’t. It is important for you to have this document in writing as with the new privacy laws (HIPPA) written authorization is necessary for access to decisions about medical matters.

LINKS

DURABLE GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY

HEALTH CARE POWER OF ATTORNEY

LIVING WILL