Martha called me about five years ago. She wanted to make some changes to her trust, and she wanted to update her financial power of attorney so that she has someone in place to make decisions for her if she’s unable to do so. (She didn’t need a comprehensive estate plan because she already had one from when I drafted it for her years earlier. We already knew she would avoid probate in California!)

Martha wanted to name her best friend Jenny as her financial power of attorney and her healthcare power of attorney. And then, as a back up, she wanted to name her lifelong friend Ben. That way, if Jenny was unable or unwilling to serve, Ben could jump in and help out.

This year, Ben called me. He had my contact information from Martha’s binder of documents. He informed me that Martha was in a car accident and in the hospital. She had just undergone a surgery and was healing well. He had to make that decision for her because she wasn’t able to make her own decisions. He also told me that he had had to file an extension on her tax returns and take a few other financial actions on her behalf to make sure bills weren’t paid late.

As an attorney, I’m not permitted to reveal anything about a client’s estate plan; I was confused why Jenny wasn’t the person but I couldn’t ask. Unprompted, Ben told me that within the past five years, Jenny had developed dementia and was in no way able to make any decisions for Martha.

He was simply calling to say thank you. He was so incredibly grateful that Martha had set up these documents already. He had been worried that he was going to have to go to court to help Martha. But thanks to her comprehensive estate plan, he was saved from going to probate court in California.

As an attorney, it’s both difficult to hear that a client is in trouble, but also makes me so incredibly glad that Martha had the forethought to put a comprehensive estate plan in place. When she was better, she also called to say that she was so glad that Ben could be by her side instead of in court trying to get the right to be able to make decisions.

If you would like to have a comprehensive estate plan to avoid probate in California, contact me for a complimentary consultation!