Waterstone Mid Month Musings – Help others help you.

Estate Planning – This is generally what comes to mind. 

It’s your core document, usually a will in NY State.  A trust can be used for very specific and unusual circumstances.  It’s rare that a home is held in a trust Discuss this with your attorney if you think you have that unusual circumstance.

It’s your Power of Attorney.  Power of Attorney Documents have a limited shelf life.  Investment firms require POA documents to be updated after 3 years, or an attestation that the POA is in full force and effect.

It’s your Health Care Directive (aka Health Care Proxy).  Is the person(s) willing, able and available to make appropriate health decisions for you if/when needed. Is this document current?  Hospitals and doctors will provide forms to authorize conversations and information, which can cause a problem if the information does not correspond to your legally prepared document. Your legally prepared version reassures all entities that the instructions reflect your wishes.

Pre-Planning for end of life

What do you want to happen to your body?   Can you provide clear instructions to family or friends who need to conclude your existence and the gathering you may wish to console your friends and family?  This can be a painful, cumbersome experience if they need to figure this out to accommodate the circumstance.  Help by laying out your ideas with professional guidance and let family implement rather than generate.  Find a local resource (generally a funeral home) and ask about pre-planning.

Your Stuff…This one’s a doozy! 

Do you have more than one property, vehicles, sport vehicles?  

Do you have antiques, collectibles, art, Grandma’s silver, jewelry, specialty tools, family photos? 

Do you have accumulations that aren’t really a working part of your current life?  Move ‘em out! Others might benefit from your stuff.

Our Offer:  Connect with us if you are interested in attending a session with an attorney to learn more about what you need. 

Tell us your interest, questions and concerns and we will prep our speaker(s),

Indicate preference for live attendance or online session.

As we gauge interest, we will be back with a positive plan for you.

How we at Waterstone assist:

We collaborate with attorneys and tax specialists to bring the technical matters into focus during life and aid the families with the conclusion at death.

We refer and assist elder case managers when elderly surviving spouses need a supportive environment in senior communities.

We connect with vetted community resources who responsibly sort and clear out properties, sell properties and vehicles.

We are finding that some of our “out of the mainstream” assistance we have provided in the past are curtailed by new regulations.  We’re here to help as permitted.