January 2016 - Garton & Harris

Wills are an important part of estate planning

January 26, 2016/in Wills /by gartonandharris

Have you put any thought into what will happen to your assets and debt when you are no longer here? Who will take care of getting your last and final payments? Who will sell your home? How will your property be divided? Everyone needs a will, no matter what the size your estate.

Talking this out with a lawyer from the law firm of Garton & Harris may help. We have two components when it comes to writing a will or an estate plan:

— Estate planning

— Estate administration

Estate planning is focused on your plan if you become incapacitated. It will also determine your asset distribution when you are gone. Estate administration assistance is mainly for family members who are responsible for seeing that your will and wishes are completely complied with. This can be a daunting job so you will need to think about who in your family can undertake this. This person is called your executor or administrator.

We can help you with either subject. We listen carefully and give you down-to-earth and reliable advice and tell you of your options. We have more than 30 years of experience under our belt and can relliably help you with your will.

This document can be as detailed as you want it to be. It can drill down to who gets the fine china and homemade quilts to who runs the company and gets the vacation home. You tell us how you see it happening and we will advise on the legal terms that will need to be addressed.

There is immeasurable comfort in knowing that your will is in place and your children will not have to argue with each other over who gets what.

What is a Power of Attorney and how can it help me?

January 18, 2016/in Power of Attorney /by gartonandharris

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows someone besides you to act on your behalf in case you become incapacitated. The term “attorney” means that a person or some persons have been chosen by you to act on your behalf. This person doesn’t have to be a lawyer. There are different types of Powers of Attorney:

A Continuing Power of Attorney for Property, or CPOA, makes sure that your financial affairs are dealt with and lets the person that you named make decisions for you if you become mentally incapacitated.

A Non-Continuing Power of Attorney for Property makes it legal for your Power of Attorney to not act if you become mentally incapacitated. This type of Power of Attorney can be used if you will be gone for an extended amount of time.

A Power of Attorney for Personal Care, or POAPC, makes it legal for the person you named to assist with your health care and housing. They can make decisions for you in case you can’t.

While there is no law that says you must have appointed someone as Power of Attorney, it is a very good idea because you definitely want someone watching over you in case something happens and you can’t make decisions for yourself.

Being judged as mentally incapacitated means that you are unable to make clear and concise decisions on your own. It can change with each situation. You need to be able to trust the person and so you need to choose carefully who you appoint. Your lawyer can help you write your Power of Attorney so that it is absolutely clear who can make decisions on your behalf and even what those decisions will be.

Source: Office of the Attoreny General, “Power of attorney and living wills,” accessed Jan. 18, 2016

You need a will no matter what size the estate

January 12, 2016/in Wills /by gartonandharris

You may not think that you need a will. After all, your estate is pretty small and you know that you have told everyone who gets what. Believe it or not, a will is needed for any estate. Have you seen in the news or experienced it first-hand when someone’s loved one dies and the heirs argue over who get the car and who gets the silver? It is sad, but it is true.

Putting your will in writing with the help of a good lawyer is a step in the right direction. You may want to ensure that your children know where the will is and that they have access to this place in case of your death. Putting it in a lock box may seem safe, but if no one knows where that lock box is, the will won’t do much good. Your attorney can keep a copy of it for you, and ensure that your wishes are carried out as you want them to be.

You need to be sure to sign your will and that you have at least two witnesses to this signing so that, if your will is ever questioned in court, it will stand up to scrutiny. Another route you may take is to have an attestation to the will that your witnesses sign. This is an extra precaution.

If you are a member of the armed forces and you are on active duty, you may make a will yourself, without the help of anyone, as long as you have a witness sign it. When you get home, though, you will need to update this will and get it properly vetted and witnessed.

Source: Succession Law Reform Act, “Testate Succession,” accessed Jan. 12, 2016

Estate planning includes many interlocking parts

January 7, 2016/in Estate Administration & Probate /by gartonandharris

If you have ever been involved when a loved one has died without a will and had no will or power of attorney, you know how convoluted it can be. The property this person owned had to be probated by the British Columbian court system and this can literally take months if not years. All of the heirs had to be tracked down and the property had to be divided.

The law firm of Garton & Harris can handle your estate planning because that is what we specialize in. We are a committed firm of attorneys who put ourselves to work on your behalf. We do our research, listen to what you want to achieve with your assets and offer you down-to-earth advice. We will offer options on what can take place.

We realize that this may be new for you and can be a bit confusing. We will make sure to put our knowledge and experience to work for you in the arena of your estate plan and maximize the chances of the outcome you desire.

An estate plan has a few different aspects to it and we will discuss your will, your power of attorney and any trusts that you may want to set up. Your estate plan can include what you want to happen to your minor children if something should happen to you. We can help you design an estate plan that protects your assets from many of the taxes that may be levied upon your passing away.

We can make your will and trusts able to stand up in a court of law, if it becomes necessary. Our knowledge on this subject is just what you need in order to see that your wishes are adhered to and that your heirs don’t have to get the court involved.

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