My mother
and father made a big mistake before they passed away. They failed to write a
will. This created a legal nightmare with months of mental agony for my dear
sister. If you live in a system with US law, British Common Law, Code Napoleon
legal system, Roman-Dutch legal system, Eastern Europe, Russian, or mainland
Chinese legal system, one is allowed to write out a will (last will and
testament) by hand and get his or her signature confirmed by three witnesses or
some official like a notary.
Yesterday with the help of Dan Miller and
Bay CPA, I helped a dear friend to set up her estate plan. One does not need a
fancy law firm with a $10,000 to $20,000 US legal fee. In the US, one can go to
www.legalzoom.com. They will help you with the paperwork that you need at a
very low price.
I recommended the following documents for
my friend:
1) A Will
2)A Power of
Attorney allowing someone to take over and do things if she became disabled,
mentally incompetent, or died.
3)A Health
Care Directive (In the event that one is brain dead and being kept alive by an
artificial machine, this allows your relatives to give instructions to turn off
the machine and allow you to die.
4)A Pet Care
Directive that leaves instructions for the care of your pets.
5)A change
in the title to your house or apartment from a title in your name to A
Revocable Property Trust (State of California) in your name. This will save you
a legal bill of up to $22,000 that would result if you had to go to probate
court. This change can be made without increasing your property taxes.
6) An LLC (limited liability corporation) or Subchapter-S Corporation is set up to allow you to achieve more lawful tax deductions.
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