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Eric Matlin and Jo Jo Hebl of the Matlin Law Group spoke to Club members about estate planning. For over 25 years, Eric has helped clients personalize their estate plans. He strives to achieve a 'meeting of the minds' regarding his client's goals. His passion to educate people has resulted in two books he wrote on the subject: Not Dead Yet, and The Procrastinator's Guide to Wills & Estate Planning. The Matlin Law Group specializes in not only estate planning, estate administration, estate litigation, special needs trusts, guardianship, and business entity creations and maintenance. Eric has a saying - "Tie up loose ends while you can still make a knot." Jo Jo is a partner at Matlin and a 1994 graduate of UW Madison and is licensed in both Illinois and Wisconsin. The presentation focused on what happens and the issues that arise when people do not plan properly. Waiting until a Power of Attorney is needed may be too late, A Trust allows you to exercise influence and control over your estate in life and death. Proper planning helps keep families out of court, saving time, money and frustration. Eric outlined what estate planning should be done at the various stages of our lives, from 18 to 80 plus years old. He also gave a brief summary of the documents you need: - Will - Instructions on who should receive your possessions and other assets after your death, plus directions for the care of your minor or disabled children and disposition of your remains, all in a format the court will recognize and accept.
- HIPAA Authorization (patient privacy) - Allows designated people access to your health care information.
- Power of Attorney for health care - Appoints an agent (a proxy) to make personal and medical decisions on your behalf, should you become incapacitated.
- Durable power of attorney (finances) - Appoints an agent (a proxy) to manage your finances, should you become incapacitated.
- Revocable living trust - A Trust established by the grantor (its creator) during his or her lifetime, with terms that can be amended (changed) or revoked (canceled) at any time during the grantor's life.
- Irrevocable trust - A Trust that cannot be amended or revoked by its grantor, either because of its terms or because the grantor has died.
Some questions we should be asking ourselves: - Who do I trust to be the guardians of my children in the event of my death?
- Who do I trust to care for my pets?
- To whom do I wish to leave my cash, real estate, business ans insurance related assets and under what conditions?
- To whom do I wish to leave my personal property? What is the fairest way to distribute it? How best to maximize its value?
- What charities do I wish to support?
- Who do I trust to make personal, medical and financial decisions for me if I'm unable to communicate?
- Do I wish to donate my viable organs tosomeone in needs?
- That are my preferences regarding funeral arrangements: Burial or cremation? Religious ceremony of life celebration?
- I'm not doing this for myself, I'm doing this for______.
Both attorneys answered questions among the members in regards to estate planning techniques. Thanks to Mike Babian for his notes! |
