Wills, Trusts, Estates, & Powers of Attorney

Wilkes-Barre, Sugarloaf and Hazleton, Pennsylvania

Wills, trusts, estates, and powers of attorney can be confusing legal and the paperwork involved with these things can be quite confusing and involved. At The Falvello Law Firm in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania, we are willing to help you with your legal needs to make sure  you and your family members are protected financially now and in the future.

Wills

Setting up a will is an important step in establishing how your estate will be distributed after your death. If you die without a will in place, the government will decide how to distribute your estate.

If you die without a will (known as being intestate) and you own any type of assets, the government statutes in place will do the following:

• An inheritor is typically appointed as estate administrator. This person collects the assets and settles the estate.
• If survived by a spouse and children, the estate is typically divided between the spouse and the children.
• If survived by neither a spouse, children, nor grandchildren, the estate is distributed among other surviving relatives such as parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins
• If survived by only children or grandchildren (no spouse), the estate is divided between the children and grandchildren. If minor children inherit the estate, the estate will be protected by a court-appointed guardian until they reach age 18. Similarly, if there is no surviving spouse, the court will appoint guardians for the children.

If you do not currently have an up-to-date will, and especially if you don’t like the probable government distribution of guardianship for your children as well as your assets, you should speak to a qualified will attorney immediately, such as one from The Falvello Law Firm. Your lawyer will make sure that your will is drawn up as you see fit so that your assets will be transferred as you requested.

In addition, there are living wills (also called advanced health care directives) that explain your wishes if you are living but incapacitated regarding life-prolonging measures which you feel should or should not be taken.

Trusts

A trust is a legal entity created for holding assets for someone or something’s benefit. The person managing the trust is called a trustee. The trustee usually keeps the title for the trust.

Trusts are used as tools to achieve certain goals including to:

• Ensure the sufficient provision of handicapped, irresponsible, or minor beneficiaries
• Leave an inheritance
• Minimize estate and inheritance taxes
• Protect assets both before and after someone’s death

Estates

Someone’s estate simply refers to the assets they have accumulated during their lifetime. Estate planning is the process of someone determining how his/her assets will be distributed after someone’s death.

Since wills become public in the form of a court file, some people choose to dispose of their assets in more private ways in Pennsylvania including:

• Bank accounts which are titled Payable on Death (POD) or Transfer on Death (TOD)
• Giving gifts of cash or other assets before someone’s death
• Holding assets in Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship (JTWOS), meaning the assets transfer to the other joint tenant upon the death of one of the joint tenants
• Holding assets in tenancy in common, meaning each tenant holds an interest in the asset which can be sold separately from the other tenants
• Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
• Life insurance policies
• Life insurance trusts
• Retirement plans
• Revocable trusts, also called grantor trusts, which give all assets to a trustee to manage before someone’s death

Powers of Attorney

A power of attorney is a legal document that states you give someone else the authorization to act on your behalf. The scope of a power of attorney can be either narrow or wide. It is usually designated for a specific purpose, and the agent who holds the power of attorney cannot act outside the scope outlined in the power of attorney document.

A regular power of attorney ends if its designated purpose has ended, or when the person giving the power of attorney is incapacitated or dies.

A durable power of attorney, on the other hand, continues even if someone becomes incapacitated. This is why a durable power of attorney is an important estate planning tool.

Whether you need help setting up a will, a trust, planning your estate, or a power of attorney, please email us at The Falvello Law Firm near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. We will work hard to make sure that your estate and your family members are protected the way you wish. We offer a free initial consultation in which you meet with a lawyer, not an assistant, so you can discuss exactly what you need.