Estate Planning and Fires
Our thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted by the fires in Los Angeles. Natasha’s family was lucky enough to only have to pack up, but she never had to evacuate.
This past week has brought a vast amount of uncertainty in Los Angeles - and as of this writing, it’s not over yet. The amount of destruction and devastation is staggering: houses are gone, businesses are gone — jobs, homes, and human lives. There are a few things to be aware of in terms of estate planning.
For existing clients:
If you vacated your house without your estate plan — and your binder is now gone — please contact us as soon as possible about re-signing documents. Although you and I have digital copies of everything, the original, wet-signature will and trust are important to have. We are offering to do this at cost; Natasha will donate her time. There are a lot of things to do; reach out when you have the time and space. We will be here to help. (To clarify: if something happens to you before you get new originals, your current copies will be fine. A copy of a will or a trust is easier to dispute, so we prefer you have an original.)
In the future, if you are packing a go-back, please include your estate planning binder.
For potential clients:
If you lost your residence, you should still consider developing a comprehensive estate plan (trust, will, financial and healthcare powers of attorneys) sooner rather than later. Although you may have lost much of your personal property, if something happens to you, your estate would still be subject to probate because of the value of the land/real property — unless, possibly, your real property is worth less than $750,000. If you are unsure, contact us to have a conversation and make sure your family can avoid probate.
Even if you do not need a trust, you should still have a financial and healthcare power of attorney. This is really important, especially as people may need someone to jump in on their behalf if they are unable to manage the complexities of the assets/debts in the fire.
A comprehensive estate plan typically includes a will, trust, financial power of attorney (durable power of attorney), healthcare power of attorney (advanced healthcare directive), and a few other documents that complete the plan.
We are here to help. Please contact us to discuss what you may need to do — or not do — especially in the wake of this disaster. It’s going to be a long road back.