It can be very difficult and uncomfortable to discuss what you want to happen with your care and assets when you can no longer make these decisions. However, it can prove to one of the most important steps in protecting yourself and your loved ones.There are many...
Your Lawyers For Life
Year: 2014
Durable, Limited, Whatever: Power of Attorney Is a Flexible Tool p3
We are going back to wrap up our discussion about powers of attorney. In our Sept. 22 post, we were going over the different kinds of powers of attorney. As we have said, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania presumes that every power of attorney is durable, that it will...
How to take that first step and draft your estate plan
Drafting, composing and ultimately completing your estate plan is a tough endeavor, there's no doubt about that. But the big hurdle to getting this done is, well, getting it done. So many people procrastinate or avoid dealing with their estate until it's too late, and...
Durable, limited, whatever: Power of attorney is a flexible tool p2
We are continuing our discussion of powers of attorney. If that sentence looks awkward, it is probably because the power of attorney is both the document and the authority granted by the document. The principal may grant authority to the agent to do just about...
Durable, limited, whatever: Power of attorney is a flexible tool
Pennsylvania law stipulates that a power of attorney is presumed to be a durable power of attorney. As we explained in our Sept. 8, 2014, post, the authority conveyed with a power of attorney differs significantly from the authority conveyed with a durable power of...
Robin Williams’ estate put in the spotlight
It is not at all uncommon when a celebrity or some famous personage dies that a spate of talk arises regarding the individual’s estate plan—what they did well, what they overlooked, and how we can all learn some lesson from their example. Robin Williams is...
Joan Rivers’ death a high-profile exercise of power of attorney
When comedian Joan Rivers went into cardiac and respiratory arrest during an outpatient procedure, the public vigil began. For the following six days, it felt as if news outlets reported on her condition hourly. While everyone outside of her hospital room waited for a...
Orphans’ Court protects people who cannot protect themselves
Probate and estate matters are governed by state law. The federal government may tax an estate, but it does not handle will contests or, for example, guardianships. Pennsylvania does not have a probate court, per se. Rather, it has Orphans' Court.We are one of two...
Do you know how a special needs trust could help your child?
Do you have a special needs child? A child with a disability that will keep him from managing day-to-day living? You know you are not alone. Looking ahead, though, you worry that your child will be alone and unable to care for himself. Whether the disability is...
Pennsylvania law keeps ‘finders’ finders not keepers
Life insurance looks pretty straightforward on the surface. You purchase a policy and name a beneficiary, you pay the premiums, you die, and the insurance company pays the beneficiary.The problem is that years can pass between the day you name the beneficiary and the...