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Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning
Legal counsel and assistance in the Hampton Roads Virginia region
pertaining to wills, trusts, estate planning, power of attorney,
and living wills. J.B. Thomas can help you set up a plan for peace
of mind for yourself and your loved ones future.
This page contains a wealth of legal information on the following
wills, trusts, and estate topics. Click on the topic links.
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Retain Our Services Online!
J. B. Thomas & Associates offers a safe, secure
method of retaining our services online for all areas
of law that we practice. Please select Wills/Trust
Retainer Fee and then enter $200.00 in the "Enter Amount"
box to retain our services for creating a will.
Will Services Retainer Fee: $200.00
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The Art of Wills, Trusts and Power of Attorney
Most people don't like to think of estate planning because
it conveys a "morbid" stigma. However,
estate planning is very important, even if you don't feel
you have enough assets to make it effective.
If something should happen to you, the courts can take
control and disperse your assets as it feels fair if you do
not have documentation detailing how you would want your assets
distributed or disposed of. Examples of documents that
will detail these terms are a will, a living will, trusts
and a durable power of attorney.
Protect your family! Contact us to help you set up a plan
for peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones in the
future.
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What Is A Will?
A will is defined as witnessed a legal document directing
the disposal of your property after your death. Without a
will, you leave your estate planning to a third party, usually
the state, to govern how your assets will be distributed.
This usually involves considerable cost as an external administrator
will have to be paid for their services. If your spouse is
named the administrator, he or she may have to post a financial
bond. Issues of lengthy amounts of time to resolve the estate
and the possibility of paying excessive state and federal
taxes on the estate will become a concern. In some cases,
your surviving family may receive portions of your estate
that you did not intend.
Depending on your circumstance, a will can also detail who
you want to have as a guardian of your children. The will
also lets you name who will be a fair executor of your estate.
In other words, it allows you to direct who and how your
assets will be executed. An attorney will assist you
in detailing precise wording of your will to eliminate confusion
and misunderstanding in the event of an untimely death.
 See
Virginia Code § 17.1-231
for information from The Virginia General Assembly on will
criteria.
Type
"wills" into The Virginia
General Assembly's Legislative Information Web site for
detail of state laws governing wills.
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What Is A Living Will?
A living will is a legal document directing that the will
maker is not to be artificially supported in the event of
a terminal illness or accident. It lets you describe
the type and extent of medical treatment you prefer if you
are unable to make those preferences known in the future.
For instance, if you were severely injured in an auto accident
and were on life-support without chance of recovery, the living
will would stipulate whether you would want to be kept alive
instead of placing the burden on a relative to decide.
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What Is A Trust?
A trust is a legal structure that you can use to document
competent asset management, protect your assets and plan placement
of assets to avoid paying excess taxes. Their major advantage
is allowing flexibility of managing your assets effectively
in the best interests of the trust's beneficiaries. Trusts
can be funded throughout a lifetime, called inter vivos trusts,
or created by the terms of a will, called testamentary trusts.
A trust can assign a responsible entity that you trust
will make sound investment decisions and maintain adequate
records of transactions. It can protect your assets from creditors,
a spouse or former spouse in the event of divorce, Provide
privacy as the terms, assets, and conditions of trusts are
not subject to the public, avoid time and money consuming
probate issues, provide for multiple beneficiaries and special
needs.
A trust is also very important in terms of controlling
estate taxes. For example, your will can leave a
substantial sum to your spouse with the stipulation that a
bulk of the proceeds remain within the trust and, thus, can
be exempt from taxation. Your surviving relatives still benefit
from the full award, without being subjected to exorbitant
up-front tax payments.
Type
"trusts" into The Virginia
General Assembly's Legislative Information Web site for
detail of state laws governing trusts.
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What Is Durable Power Of Attorney?
A durable power of attorney is a written legal document that
lets an individual designate another person to act on his
or her behalf, even in the event the individual becomes disabled
or incapacitated.
If you happened to become completely incapacitated to take
care of your finances, who would be responsible for paying
your bills and how? Someone needs to be designated to have
the power to perform these duties. If you do not specify who
is responsible, even your spouse would have to ask for permission
from a court to take care of these essentials in some cases.
This situation is completely avoidable with a little planning
by establishing a power of attorney document.
Type
"powers of attorney" into The Virginia
General Assembly's Legislative Information Web site for
detail of state laws governing powers of attorney.
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