Since the death of Michael Jackson, there has been a controversy over his assets. His estate is held by the probate court against the background of tax. The probate litigation process for this case has been a lengthy one. While his estate planning attorneys try to convince the judge that at the time he died, his likeness was correct, the judges have to look critically into his source of income to determine whether the likeness is worth the value that the attorneys claim. Could you ever envisage, that of all people, the legacy of the king of pop to his family would be trapped in a law court.
This can happen to anyone including you. Valuation of estate can be quite tricky. Make no mistakes, if your estate planning and wills are not well documented, your personality as well as property rights will get trampled upon. Against this background, it is imperative to get a qualified attorney to help with proper estate valuation and documentation. Well documented will and planning of your assets can help safeguard it during incapacitation and even after death.
The bottom line is that not all is as it seems- there is a lot more to estate and likeness valuation, planning and will paperwork than you probably know. The extent to which your wishes and will will be honored is a function who gets the homework and paperwork done.
In your plan, you can assign different roles to different persons. While you can get your oldest children to be will your power of attorney, you can designate medical care responsibilities to another your medical doctors or someone you feel you could best rely on in the event that you become incapacitated to make.
Not all that glitters is gold. Hence before assigning roles to people, you should get to know them well make certain that it is what you want to do rather not what somebody else wants you to do. Each person you assign a role in the event of your incapacity will possess some attributes which paves the way for them to successfully act on your behalf.
Your executor
otherwise know as your personal representative, is the one you delegate with the power to execute your will. In the event of probate, he/she and he alone implement your wishes. If over time controversies arise, he/she works in conjunction with the an attorney to ensure your assets are secure. Your personal .representative might be your lawyer, account or persons from you family. You may also name your family members as an executor and get a professional to work with them as a co-executor.
Health care power of attorney
In case of incapacitation due medical problems, your health care power of attorney is the person who takes charge of health responsibilities and make health decisions on your behalf. A proxy is otherwise known as health care proxy. A critical factor you should put into consideration when choosing your proxy is their closeness to you.
Your power of attorney
This is the person who oversees all your investments, companies, and finances such as taxes, banking when you become incapacitated. How much power you want your attorney to will, which areas you want them to act upon, and how long you want them to preside over your finances, depends on you and you alone.
Guardian
This is the person you delegate with role of taking care of your any of your family member in case of your demise. Your choice of guardian should be factored by their knowledge and kind of personality. You can choose to give them control over assets willed to the person placed in their custody.
Trustee
You can have a portion of your assets placed under trust and get a person or entity to legally participate in the ownership. In case of entity, it is called corporate trustee which can a bank. Preferably you choose corporate trustee over individual trustees for the fact that the former is and objective party. Be as strictly as possible when selecting those persons and select only those you can count on.