How To Leave Money in a Trust for a Spouse or Child You create a trust to provide for those who you do not trust with money. Trusts offer the advantage of creating specific boundaries for release of funds while protecting the rest of the money and property from creditors. Even more advantageous, if you plan properly, you can also eliminate the estate taxes on the trust and leave more wealth behind for your family, and less for tax collectors’ pockets. → Read More
Spouse’s Legal Rights to a Deceased’s Spouse’s Assets In a community property state, upon death, spouses have the right to dispose of their share of community property in whatever way they see fit. A deceased spouse can distribute both their separate property and their share of the community property in a will. In non-community property states, a spouse is not automatically entitled to half the interest in all property acquired during the marriage. This is because both spouses do not necessarily own all property acquired during the marriage. Rather, ownership is determined by whose name is on the title or by establishing which spouse’s income purchased the property, although courts seek an equitable distribution of such assets. → Read More
How can an estate plan prevent probate of my estate? Estate plan uses several tools to prevent a court from gaining jurisdiction over your estate in the event of your death. → Read More
Does a living will let me tell doctors when to withdraw life support? A living will is a document spelling out what kind of medical care a person wants if he or she should have a terminal illness or become incapable of communicating his or her wishes. A living will can set out the kinds of treatment a person does or does not want in any circumstances. Instead of giving instructions about your medical care if you become incapacitated, a DPA names a person you trust to make those decisions for you. → Read More
Is a living will different from a living trust? A living trust is very different from a living will. A living trust is a way to manage and control property during your lifetime and to distribute it at your death. A living will allows you to control your health care if you become incapacitated. → Read More
What Is a Health Care Power of Attorney? A health care power of attorney or a health care proxy is a document that designates a person or persons you name and authorizes that person to make health care decisions for you – but only in circumstances when you can’t make the decisions for yourself. → Read More
When does power of attorney take effect? A power of attorney is a legal agreement that specifies a decision maker in the event of incapacitation. In other words, a power of attorney is someone trusted with the job of making financial, legal, and medical decisions for someone who can no longer do it themselves. The person who creates the power of attorney is the principal. → Read More
Types of Power of Attorney Power of attorney, or POA, is a document that gives a person the legal right to perform certain acts for someone else. The principal is the person who intends to have someone else act for him or her while the agent is the person appointed to carry out the actions. → Read More
Medical Power of Attorney A power of attorney is an agreement that gives one person the legal authority to make decisions or perform certain acts on behalf of another. If a power of attorney is created specifically for medical decisions, then it is called a medical power of attorney. → Read More
Colorado Probate: The Basics If you’re the legal heir to the estate of a recently deceased Colorado resident, you most likely have questions about Colorado probate law – the area of the law that deals with the collection and distribution of a person’s assets after their death. However, depending on the size of the estate in question, you may be able to bypass Colorado probate court altogether. → Read More
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