New Years

 

When the time comes, we want you to be better prepared to handle the situation, relieve yourself of a great amount of stress, and make wiser decisions while grieving. If you are the spouse, next-of-kin, executor or the surviving family member(s) someone has the legal standing to make the decisions upon the death of the loved one. Here are the important documents you should absolutely have or arrange to have prepared. We have provided several free forms or you can consult an attorney. If your loved one is hospitalized consult the hospital for the necessary medical forms.

 

Make sure that the individual has made a Last Will and Testament. It is a legal document to state who will manage his/her estate, assets, or items of value. The person named to manage is called the executor he or she carries out the stated wishes of the individual. The person designated to receive any of the assets is called a and the beneficiary(ies). The Last Will and Testament also names who will become the guardian of any minor children or dependents. Below here to download the free Last Will and Testament.

 

If your loved one dies without a Last Will and Testament, the estate will be settled based on the laws of your state and will outline who receives what. This legal process of transferring the property to the rightful person is called probate. It is important that you have a Last Will and Testament prepared to identify the executor and the beneficiary(ies).

 

A Living Trust is also essential. This document spells out the rules that you want followed for the property held in trust for the beneficiary(ies), for the reduction of estate tax liability, for the protection of property, and to avoid probate.

 

Additionally, make sure that you have a legal order called a health care surrogate filed in the hospital to make healthcare decisions for your loved one when they become unable to make decisions for themselves. Another aspect is a legal order of action called DNR (Do Not Resuscitate). This allows for natural death to occur, and to withhold performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), or Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), in keeping with the wishes of the loved one in case his/her heart stops. Click here to download the form for Health care surrogate.

 

To prevent unnecessary complications you need to know about life insurance policies, pensions, and the beneficiary(ies). It has been reported that billions of dollars in life insurance policies are unclaimed nationwide. Part of the reason is that individuals don’t know about the policy, don’t know who is the designated beneficiary(ies), or the insurance company nor the policy number. This information is very necessary if you are responsible for covering the cost of the final disposition of your loved one. Since life insurance is typically processed outside of probate court, this may be the only money your or your family member(s) have readily available to you.

 

To help prevent other issues, it is necessary to contact companies such as Social Security Agency, United Postal Service, Banks and Credit Card Companies to cancel , transfer , or to handle as needed.