Virginia Lawyers

• Life After Caregiving
• How to Keep Caregiving From Ruining Family Relationships
  
• Caregiver Burnout
• Caregiver Stories

Tags:

• 6 Steps to Creating a Will
• Avoiding Probate with a POD Account
• Being a Power of Attorney is Not Easy
• Benefits of Pre-Planned Funeral
• Can You Inherit Credit Card Debt?
• Checklist: What To Do When Someone Dies
• Common Types Of Trusts
• Depression Rates For Caregivers
• Difference between Medicare and Medicaid
• Does An Executor Get Paid
• Don't Die without a Will
• Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
• Estate Planning for Beginners
• Financial Toll of Being a Caregiver
• General Power of Attorney Form
• How Many People Die Without a Will?
• How Often Should You Update Your Will
• How to Prepare for the Death of a Loved One
• If You Not Going to Help - Keep Quite!
• Last Will and Testament Form
• Make Your First Will
• Must Read for Siblings of Caregivers
• Sample Last Will and Testament Form
• The Probate Process
• Things Your Executor Will Need to Know
• What Are Video Wills
• What Does an Executor Do?
• What is a Holographic Will?
• When is Probate Necessary?
• Worst Excuses For Not Having A Will

How Many People Die Without a Will?
More than half of all adult Americans do not have a will. A 2007 survey indicated that 55% of Americans have yet to prepare a Will. Those figures have remained virtually unchanged since then.

It’s Never Too Early to Make Your First Will
Everyone needs a Will—whether you’re a young couple just starting out, an established family with valuable assets to protect, or an entrepreneurial business owner with succession on your mind. Whatever stage of life you may be in, it is never not too early to make your first Will.

Being a Power of Attorney is Not Easy
We all want the best for our loved ones as they age and often times they may need to appoint a Power of Attorney to help handle their affairs. Be aware before you say yes to being a POA. It may be one of the most thankless jobs you will ever perform. It is hard work and time consuming. You will become the whipping boy for the rest of the family who overlooks the fact that you are rarely compensated for all the hours you put in. ">Continued

The Benefits of Pre-Paying Funeral Expenses
Some of the benefits to a Pre-Planned funeral are that decisions can be made prior to time of need, leaving families time and energy to focus on their emotional needs. You can also make the decisions that eliminate the family wondering if the arrangements your family makes for yor funeral are ones that you would have really wanted. Not only does it prevents stress and confusion but prevents overspending, thereby protecting your family and your assets. If you choose a pre-planned funeral with an Irrevocable Trust it is exempted from SSI and Medicaid qualification. ">Continued

How to Avoid Probate
Probate is the court-supervised process of winding up a decedent’s personal and financial affairs. During probate, a Personal Representative is appointed and charged with collecting the decedent’s assets, paying their bills, and distributing their property to the proper heirs. Having your loved one’s property tied up in probate can be stressful, expensive, and often unnecessary, if you know how to avoid it. ">Continued

Here's a Novel Thought - How About Thanking the Caregiver Rather Than Criticizing
The vast majority of caregivers put there own lives on hold to assist loved ones without asking for, or receiving a simple thank you. It inevitably happens that those folks who offer the most advice and criticism to the caregiver are those they don't raise a hand to help out. To all the family members who sit idly by and do nothing to help there elderly parents when they reach the golden years: Either help out, or keep your opinion to yourself! ">Continued

How to Complete a Living Will
What is an Advance Directive? As you approach those final weeks or days or hours of your life, what are your wishes about aspects such as keeping you alive on machines or jump-starting your heart so it won't stop? Do you wish to have a respirator breath for you? Or do you want to be fed through a tube threaded down your throat to your stomach? Continued

The Probate Process
The process begins when the person named in a Will as personal representative (sometimes called an "executor") files papers in the local probate court. This person must prove that the Will is valid. In some states a valid Will requires two witnesses to testify that the person who created the Will was of sound mind and knew what he or she was doing. These witnesses must sign the Will in the presence of each other at the time the Will is created. The personal representative usually provides the court with proof of these requirements in an affidavit signed by at least one of the witnesses. ">Continued