Hablamos Español
Most people won’t even think about the possibility of mental incapacitation until they are actually impacted by it, such as by having a spouse or relative become mentally debilitated. It’s very important to take into account what you would want to have happen in the event that you do become incapacitated. There are two alternatives to planning for mental incapacitation, the first of which is to do nothing, which means that someone else will have to deal with it. The second alternative is to go to court and establish a conservatorship of the person’s healthcare, living arrangement, and care, as well as their estate or finances. If you don’t have a plan, then someone else will have to figure things out on the fly by going through the court system, which could take six to eight weeks. There could be fights between your children, spouse, or whoever has been providing care for you. In order to avoid all of this, it is very important to have a plan established ahead of time. The further in advance you establish a plan, the clearer your wishes will be to everyone involved.
At Cianchetta & Associates, completing an estate plan typically takes two to three weeks. This will depend, however, on how long it takes you to decide how you want your assets divided, who you want to have administer the estate, who you want to name as power of attorney, and who you want to have in charge of your healthcare should you become incapacitated. For most people, making these decisions takes two or three weeks.
Once you provide us with all of your information, we will prepare the trust and all related documents over the course of two to three weeks. Once we sign the trust documents and the deed, you have to have the deed recorded with the county recorder. After that, we will need to coordinate all of the investments in order to make sure that they are re-titled into the name of the trust; this portion of the process is referred to as funding the trust. In some cases, we will fund the trust with a life insurance policy. Sometimes it’s just a matter of redirecting who the beneficiary is or naming a contingent beneficiary. All of this can take six to eight weeks to complete.
When looking to hire an estate planning attorney, you should consider their experience and reviews from previous clients. If the attorney works solo, you should make sure they have a backup plan for ensuring that your case will be dealt with properly. At Cianchetta & Associates, we have other attorneys available and a continuation plan to keep the law firm in existence. You should also consider how timely their responses to you will be, and how they will make documents available to you. We have a client management system through which all documents are made available to our clients as PDFs for them to view, print, or email through a HIPAA compliant system that is as safe as communicating with a banker or financial institution. You should also consider how well you get along with the attorney, whether or not they seem to truly care about you, and whether they have compassion.
For more information on Accounting For Mental Incapacitation In Estate Plan, a consultation with an experienced California Estate Planning Attorney is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (916) 685-7878 or by filling out our online contact form today.
Mr. Cianchetta is an OUTSTANDING attorney. I was a little nervous about seeing an attorney for my case. Mr. Cianchetta and his staff made my wife and I feel right at ease. He took extra time explaining what to expect before, during and after our process. His advice was right on!
- Jack M.
