In our January, 2011 newsletter we talked about how the Egyptian pyramids were created to insure the legacy of the builders.  The connection to creating your legacy through a good estate plan was obvious!

I'd like to think that the ancients had the same procrastination issues as modern men and women.  For years, they thought about gathering the stones together, but they didn't start because they were young or they were busy fighting wars or, or, or... Then, one day maybe an uncle dies, and the pharaoh says, "I really need to start that pyramid."

So you wake up one morning, maybe the first day of the year or your birthday or your child's 6th birthday or the day after your aunt dies, some day, often a significant one, and you think, "I REALLY NEED TO WRITE MY WILL".

 

That is like, "Oops I haven't gathered a single stone, and I really need to do that".

 

Many of the readers of this Newsletter have a car or truck or motorcycle which they would like to continue to drive for some period, maybe years. Savvy owners of automobiles know that to keep a vehicle running so it will start up when you want to get going, you gotta take care of it.  

 

Ok. So what does that entail? Change the oil every 3,000 miles? No problem, but wait...is that correct? I've been told vehicles of recent vintage can run on the same oil for 5,000 miles or more.    

 

But more to the point, just changing the oil is not enough. As a responsible owner, you need to do all that other stuff to your car. Well, maybe not YOU but someone. You know, "stuff' like checking the brakes, changing the filters (what filters?), checking the fluids (how do you do that?) And no doubt other things that I can't name just now. If you don't know what all "that other stuff" is, you better take your vehicle, perhaps it is the one you named "Maggie" or "Ferdinand", to someone who does. Right? 

While you think first about changing the oil but really mean you need to get your car serviced, you first think a Will, but really mean you need to work with Julia to do an estate plan for your family.

 

 

As a reader of this newsletter you know that chances are good that you need a Trust Agreement (more on California Living Trusts) supplemented by a "pour-over Will". Or possibly your primary document can be a Will.

 

That is the basic element, like changing the oil. But there is more "stuff", more documents you need, and it would be best if you engaged an experienced, careful lawyer to design your estate plan.

 

What other documents are needed? I would recommend (as I believe most good estate planning attorneys would), that you have drafted for you at least the following:

The agent will only control money that is not in your trust (if any). The document ceases to be effective and valid when you die.

 

Most likely, you or your and your spouse is/are the Trustee so you are giving yourself/yourselves in your capacity as trustee the property you now own individually.

 

This kind of transfer does not trigger an increase in property taxes.

 

The Will can say other things, like who gets your motor scooter or Aunt Jessie's china, etc.

 

And there is another very important document which speaks your wishes for care of your self, not what you own, but your body, in particular after you can no longer speak your wishes. It can also address issues of who will visit you in the ICU and what happens to your body after you die. It is a little confusing that this document has a number of names but these names refer to the kind of document that states your directions for your health care/care of your body.

 

I thought it would be helpful to link to a sample engagement letter so that when you come to this office you will already know what to expect in terms of service and cost.

The letter is addressed to a single person. The letter for a married couple or partners is similar.

The two most important differences are that the letter for couples asks that they waive any conflict of interest because the law requires that if two people are represented by one firm, they must each waive any conflict of interest that might arise; it also tells them that anything one of them tells us will be repeated to the other (no secrets!). The cost is different, too. The cost to a married couple is approximately $4,000. There are the same provisos about the cost in the letter to a married couple as in the letter to a single person.