Hagstrom Law and Mediation, PLLC

Family Law, Estate Planning, and Conflict Resolution

Posts Tagged ‘Wills’

Where Should I Store My Will and Other Estate Planning Documents?

June 19th, 2012 by Anna Hagstrom

Congratulations – you have completed your estate plan, which likely includes a Will (containing trust provisions if applicable), Health Care Directive, and Power of Attorney. Now – where to keep these documents?

Will

An ideal location is a fireproof safe. If you do not have a safe, keep your will in a safe location along with other personal documents. Some county courthouses allow wills to be deposited and filed for safekeeping for a small fee. A safe deposit box is another option. Wherever you choose to store it, make sure that someone other than your spouse knows the location of your will and has access (combination to the safe, access to safe deposit box, etc.). You might want to give a copy of your will to your personal representative, trustee, or guardians, but it is not necessary to do so.

Health Care Directive

It is a good idea to retain the original, and provide a copy to each agent named in the document. Additionally, you should give a copy to your primary care physician to be kept with your medical records, and bring a copy with you to any medical procedure that you have.

Power of Attorney

I recommend that you store your original power of attorney with your will, making sure that your attorney in fact has access. You may also choose to give an original to your attorney in fact. Since this document is effective immediately and is very powerful, that choice should be made carefully.

Because you may not be able to direct someone to the location of these documents, it is important to let a trusted family member or friend know the location and how to access your documents if necessary.

Do I Need A Will?

June 11th, 2012 by Anna Hagstrom

I think there is a common misconception that a will is only necessary if you have feuding family members and a very large estate. Since we don’t often discuss wills, our exposure to estate planning in popular culture is usually limited to the dramatic reading of the millionaire’s will. Exaggerated portrayal of the subject makes it easy to think that wills and estate planning are for “them,” not for “us.”

I recently came across a news story on Jason DeRusha’s blog, answering the question “Should you have a will?” The article provides some great information, including pointing out that if you don’t write your will, the statute writes one for you – in order to control what happens after your death you need to make a will.

Children are the first and most important trigger in my mind that someone should have a will. Yet, people often don’t come to me to make a will until they have heard stories of (or experienced first hand) the difficulty following the death of a loved one who did not have a will. Most people are unaware of the legal headache that not having a will causes for their family. The good news is that much of the procedural difficulty can be removed simply by having a will.

In contrast to the dramatic portrayal, the reality is that if you have children you should have a will – regardless of how much money or assets you have. A will covers many areas, including naming guardians of minor children, deciding at what age children receive money, naming a trustee to manage any funds in trust, designating who will be in charge of wrapping up your affairs, and more. Writing a will is also a simple process (and – often not as expensive as people assume).

Yes – if you are a multimillionaire, you should have a will. But, if you are the average family, you need a will too!

End-of-Life Planning in the News

March 20th, 2012 by Anna Hagstrom

On its program The Daily Circuit, MPR recently discussed “Preparing your end of life plan”. The guest highlighted the importance of this type of planning from his perspective as a physician and health policy expert. He also noted the cultural barriers to discussions of death, which can make us put off this type of planning – paralleling my previous post. Even though these are difficult discussions to have, they are extremely important especially as technology improves and there are more decisions to be made, for example to allow for a natural death. As an integral part of an Estate Plan, I walk clients through preparing a Health Care Directive providing instructions to loved ones and caregivers.

Health Care Directives can include a variety of information depending on what is important to you, such as burial or cremation preference, religious views surrounding death, hopes and fears for health care, wishes for treatment or discontinuing life support. This step can ensure that you receive the care that you desire and also help loved ones know that any decisions they make are in line with your values. The importance of end-of-life planning is widely recognized, and is part of the estate planning package that I provide to my clients to ensure that your loved ones are able to carry out your wishes and to ease their burden as much as possible.

Estate Planning Can Be Therapeutic

March 15th, 2012 by Anna Hagstrom

I have noticed that it is common for clients to feel satisfaction, relief, and empowerment upon completing an estate plan. At a minimum, it is an item checked off the “to do” list. Despite these and other benefits, it is a task that can be very difficult to begin because of the unique connection between estate planning and consideration of death.

I recently read an article analyzing the psychological consequences of estate planning. The author noted that it can be an unsettling process because it involves contemplation of mortality, but concluded that the overall effect of estate planning is therapeutic; we can all “receive contentment from the preparation and implementation of an estate plan.” A Therapeutic Jurisprudential Framework of Estate Planning, 35 Seattle U. L. Rev. 427, 471-2 (2012).

It is common to put off making an estate plan or executing a will as a way to avoid thinking about mortality. We might even be superstitious that we won’t need a will until we make one. While preparing a will, we might consider the grief that loved ones will feel if we die suddenly, or wonder about the uncertainties of death. Our tendency is to avoid these thoughts.

Once we begin, however, the process of preparing an estate plan – with the accompanying contemplation and decision-making – provides an opportunity for reflection. We are asked to consider the options and make meaningful choices with respect to our property, who will care for our children, who we trust to make important decisions for ourselves if we are unable, and what healthcare values are important to us. Engaging in these and other questions can be a therapeutic consequence of completing an estate plan.

Attorneys are in a unique position to support our clients in the psychological aspect of preparing an estate plan. For example, the suggestion to complete a Health Care Directive might prompt a discussion regarding end of life wishes that a couple has not had before. These conversations carry the potential to bring us closer to one another and gain clarity about our beliefs.

I feel privileged that others will allow me, as their estate planning attorney, to assist them in making these personal decisions, sharing private information and allowing me to help them analyze the best plan to accomplish their goals. While what I may offer in some areas is simply support for contemplation, in other areas I can offer suggestions for action, such as ways to ease the burden on loved ones following death, or strategies to reduce estate taxes.

Knowing that anxiety about death can hasten decision-making, I can encourage individuals to thoroughly examine the options before making decisions. Recognizing the interplay between emotions surrounding death and estate planning can also help me build specifics into an estate plan – such as addressing concerns that the probate process will be difficult for family members, or that heirs will argue over assets.

In addition to practical benefits of estate planning, engaging in the process can be therapeutic – providing comfort, satisfaction, and piece of mind.

Why do I want to look at the deed to your house when I draft your estate plan?

February 18th, 2012 by Anna Hagstrom

The way title is held affects the way the asset passes upon death. Therefore, as part of your Estate Plan I will want to look at the deeds to any property that you own. If you own property with another person and both of you intent that the other should automatically receive your interest without having to go through the probate process, you will want to hold title to the property as “joint tenants.”

In Minnesota, in order for the property to be owned in joint tenancy, the deed must specifically state that the property is owned as such. For example, the deed would state that “X, a single person, Grantor, hereby conveys to A and B, husband and wife, Grantees, as joint tenants, real property in Ramsey County, Minnesota, described as follows…” If the deed does not specifically state that it is joint tenancy, then the property is held as tenants in common.

A thorough estate plan involves not only drafting a will, but taking a complete look at how your assets will pass upon your death.  Those who have married after purchasing property will especially want to review this aspect of their estate plan. Because each spouse acquired title at different times, they will not own the property as joint tenants and may want to record a new deed. For these and other reasons it is important to know how you hold title to your property, and also explains why I want to see your deed when I complete your estate plan.

Latest Blog Post

Article Featured in ‘With Equal Right’

January 14th, 2013 by Anna Hagstrom

I’m honored to have been asked to write a feature article for With Equal Right, the quarterly publication of Minnesota Women Lawyers, on the topic of Generations in the Workplace.  I focused on how my generation of law school graduates is Redefining Success – in light of the various challenges we are facing.  Read the… (Read more…)