It’s the Holidays – Time for a Serious Discussion with your Loved Ones

By Jeff Wagoner, W M Law President

I absolutely love the holidays.  It is a wonderful time for me mainly because I get to spend time with family that I rarely see throughout the remainder of the year.  So, it’s a great time to catch up on their lives and listen to their joys and concerns about their life.  It’s also a great time to discuss some issues that are difficult to discuss, but may make a difficult time in the future a little easier.  Now, you don’t need to be in your golden years to have this discussion.  This advice applies to “twenty-somethings” just as much (maybe more in some ways) as it does with great-grandmas.  Last month, my blog was about the heart-breaking story that was shared by another attorney of when his family was in an horrific traffic accident that claimed the lives of both of his parents and an infant sibling.  He and his toddler aged sister survived.  His young parents had not done any sort of estate plan, and as a result, the two young surviving children became wards of the court for placement among family members.  Don’t let that happen to […]

By | December 7th, 2018|0 Comments

How to Use Estate Planning to Avoid a Guardianship Proceeding when an Elderly Parent is Involved

By Jeff Wagoner, W M Law President
Recently I had a potential client contact me about getting a guardianship for her mother whose mental state was beginning to deteriorate.  The daughter was concerned that her mother’s failing mental health would lead her to forget to pay the mortgage loan on her house or to pay the insurance or make other financial mistakes.  So, the daughter thought the best option was to obtain a guardianship over her mother.  But, a guardianship is a pretty drastic measure.  It involves a hearing to convince a judge that the guardianship is necessary.  It also requires annual reporting.  Sometimes a bond is required.  So, how can we avoid that?
In this case, the daughter was worried also because the mother was getting belligerent and uncooperative with her.  I recommended that while her mother is still mentally competent (so it needed to be done right away) that we should do a an estate plan, which includes a Financial Power of Attorney and a Healthcare Power of Attorney.  With these two documents, the daughter could accomplish nearly everything that a guardianship order would allow her to do.  With regard to the mother’s becoming belligerent, it is true that a […]

By | March 1st, 2018|0 Comments