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The information you find here are designed to help protect your family and your assets, and save on legal fees at the same time.

Estate Planning by Life Stages Estate Planning Tools/Documents Your Will Secular or Christian Will Other Financial Legal Tools/Documents For Daily Use Notice

ESTATE PLANNING
By
LIFE STAGES

Introduction to Estate Planning You Are Young and Without Dependents Engaged But Not Yet Married You Have Young Children You Are Middle-Aged and Financially Comfortable You Are Elderly or Ill

Introduction to Estate Planning

CFM provides guidelines about which estate planning documents to consider for several life situations.

Estate Planning is the process of arranging for what will happen to your property (your “estate”) when you die. The estate planning process includes the following:

• Making arrangements for someone to care for your young children if you die prematurely,
• Planning for your own care in case someday you can’t make decisions on your own,
• Taking steps to avoid probate proceedings at your death,
• Planning a commemorative ceremony or funeral, and
• Making other funeral arrangements.

Your estate planning needs depend on your age, health, wealth, and level of caution. Next are some common life situations, with some general estate planning strategies that are appropriate for each. Take a look at the ones that most clearly match your current circumstances to get an idea of where to start your estate planning efforts.

We will show you which documents will help you. We will also mention other documents you can prepare through CFM that might be appropriate based on your age and circumstances.

Here are the life situations to consider.

• You are young and without dependents
• You are paired up but not yet married
• You have children
• You are middle-aged and comfortable financially
• You are elderly or ill

Do not worry if none of these examples is a perfect match with your current life situation. These are just illustrations of how we can help you in different circumstances, to accomplish different kinds of estate planning goals.

You Are Young and Without Dependents

• If you are young and without dependents, there is not much point in putting a lot of energy into estate planning. Unless your lifestyle is unusually risky or you have a serious illness, you are very unlikely to die for a long time.
• Consider making a will if you are uncommonly rich, lead a high-risk lifestyle, or if you have possessions or property you want to leave to a specific person.
• Also, no matter what your age or health, you should consider making a healthcare directive, in which you state in writing the kind of medical care you want to receive if you are close to death or in a permanent coma. Everyday, people are injured in accidents and wind up in hospitals, and if they have not made their wishes clear, confusion and disagreements about treatment can make it tough for close relatives.
• Also consider the General Use Forms to see whether any of them suit your needs. For example, you can use the Request for Birth Certificate to obtain that vital record when it is time to apply for a passport or for government benefits.

You Are Engaged But Not Yet Married

• If you have a life partner but are not yet married to him or her, a will is a must-have document. Without a will, state law will dictate where your property goes after your death–typically, your closest relatives will inherit everything.
• You and your soon-to-be spouse should also think about making durable powers of attorney for finances and healthcare directives, giving each of you authority to make financial and healthcare decisions for the other if it is ever necessary.
• You may also want to consider the General Use Forms so that you will know they are available should the need arise. For example, you can use the request for birth certificate to obtain that vital record when it is time to apply for a passport or for government benefits.

You Have Young Children

• If you have young children you should definitely make a will, so that you can name a guardian for them. The guardian would raise the children in the unlikely event that both you and the other parent could not. If you fail to name a guardian, a court will appoint someone if it is ever necessary.
• You can also use a will or a living trust to name a trusted adult to manage property that a child or young adult inherits from you. A living trust is a legal entity you create, and into which you place your property so that it will pass after your death to the people you want to inherit it, without going through the hassle of probate proceedings.
• No matter what your age or health, you should consider making a healthcare directive, where you direct in writing the kind of medical care you want to receive if you are close to death or in a permanent coma.
• Finally, check out the General Use Forms for a number of documents to help busy parents care for their children. For example, you can use the authorization for minor’s medical treatment form to give an adult that you name authority to allow medical care for your child in your absence.

You Are Middle-Aged and Financially Comfortable

• If you have made it to a comfortable time in life, you will probably want to take some time to reflect on what you will eventually leave behind. But given that you will likely live for another 30-40 years, there is no reason to obsess about it.
• To save your family the cost and hassles of probate court proceeding after your death, think about creating a revocable living trust. While you are alive, you can revoke or change its terms at any time. But after your death, a person you have chosen takes control of your trust property and transfers it according to the directions you left in the trust documents.
• If you have enough property to worry about federal estate taxes, think about making an AB trust, which is designed to both avoid probate and reduce estate tax. (You must be married to use our AB trust.) For a death in 2003, estates worth more than $1 million are taxed; that amount will increase to $3.5 million by 2009, and then after that the estate tax is scheduled to be repealed in 2010. The estate tax will be reinstated in 2011 unless Congress acts again.
• Even if you make a living trust, you will still need to make a back up will.
• And, no matter what your age or heath, you should consider making a healthcare directive, where you direct in writing the kind of medical care you want to receive if you are close to death or in a permanent coma.
  Finally, check our “Information For Care-Givers and Survivors” form. With this document, you can provide a road map of the details of your life–from information abut your bank to names of people you want contacted in the event of your illness or death–
  to the person who will care for you if you become incapacitated or who will manage your estate after your death.

You Are Elderly or Ill

• Now is the time to take concrete steps to establish an estate plan. It is also a good time to think about what could happen before your death, if you become seriously ill and unable to handle your own affairs.
• To save your family the cost and hassles of probate court proceedings after your death, think about creating a revocable living trust. While you are alive, you can revoke or change its terms at any time. But after your death, a person you have chosen takes control of your trust property and transfers it according to the directions you left in the trust document.
• If you have enough property to worry about federal estate taxes, think about making an AB trust, which is designed to both avoid probate and reduce estate tax. For a death in 2002, estates worth more than $1 million were taxed; that amount will increase to $3.5 million by 2009, and after that, the estate tax is scheduled to be repealed in 2010. If you are married, you can make a tax-avoiding AB trust with CFM.
• Even if you make a living trust, you will still need to make a will for back up purposes.
  If you are concerned about who would handle day-to-day financial matters if you were unable to do it yourself, consider making a durable power of attorney for finances. This document gives a person you choose the legal authority to manage your property on your behalf if you cannot.
• You will probably also be interested in making a healthcare directive, in which you set out your wishes for medical treatment should you ever be unable to speak for yourself. In conjunction with making a healthcare directive, you may also pick a trusted person to carry out your wishes.
• Another feature we can help you with is to explore the final arrangement’s document. In this document you can set forth your wishes on such matters as what kind of disposition (funeral or cremation) you want, and the sort of commemorative ceremony you have in mind.
• Finally, you may consider completing a form called “Information for Caregivers and Survivors.” With this document, you can record all the details of your life–such as your various bank accounts or the names and phone numbers of your doctors; that the person who must care for you in your incapacity or who will manage your affairs after your death will not otherwise know about.

ESTATE PLANNING TOOLS/DOCUMENTS

Here is a list and brief description of the estate planning documents.

Your Will

• Provide for family, friends and charities
• Name a personal guardian to care for young children
• Specify the executor of your estate
• Select a trusted person to manage property left to young people
• Revise and update your will whenever you like

Your Financial Power of Attorney

• Name someone to make your financial decisions, in case you are medically incapacitated
• Appoint an alternate in case that person cannot serve
• Grant as much authority as you wish

Your Living Will (Healthcare Directive)

• Outline medical procedures that you want provided
• Specify whether or not you want your life prolonged through artificial means
• Appoint someone to make sure your wishes are carried out

Your Final Arrangements

• Plan a funeral or other ceremony
• Clarify whether you want a cremation or burial
• Select someone to oversee your final arrangements

Documents for Your Executor

• Request for Death Certificate
• Affidavit of Domicile
• Executor’s Checklist
• Executor’s Letter to Financial Institutions
• Notices to Insurance companies
• Life Insurance Claim Form Requests
• And more

YOUR WILL

Here are some guidelines to help you plan and prepare your will.

What Is A Will? A will is a legal document that directs to whom your property goes after your death. To be valid, it must be properly executed. It does not become effective until death, and it can be changed or amended during life. The will is also the legal instrument by which you nominate or appoint certain individuals to perform important services after you death, such as the administration of your estate and the care of your minor children.

How Long Is A Will Valid? With some exceptions, a properly executed will remains valid indefinitely. Certain events during life, such as marriage, divorce, or the birth of children may revoke or affect the validity of a will. A will can be revoked, destroyed, or changed at any time during life. The execution of a new will revokes all prior wills.

A will can be changed or modified with the use of a codicil. A codicil is a legal document that changes part, but not all, of the will. To be valid, the codicil must be executed with the same formality as a will.

Who Should Have A Will? Every adult person should have a will. However, recent estimates show that up to 70 percent of U.S. citizens are without valid wills. A will is a basic and fundamental exercise of biblical stewardship and management over your property. If you are married, both you and your spouse should each have your own will. Do not attempt to execute one will for both of you. Although it may be possible for two spouses to have one document as their will, almost all legal advisors will recommend against having a so-called “joint will.”

Why Have A Will? A will allows you the opportunity to exercise Godly stewardship over your assets after your death. Just as important, it allows you to exercise your choice of important appointments such as the executor of your estate or the guardian of your minor children. If you do not exercise your right to make these appointments in a will, your state government will decide who will be the executor and who will be the guardian of your children (a surviving natural parent is NOT guaranteed custody of your children!).

What Constitutes A Valid Will? In order to be valid, a will must be properly prepared and executed. In general, the person executing the will must be of legal age to execute the will and must have testamentary capacity; i.e., be able to understand the extent of their property, who their beneficiaries are, and that they are executing a document that disposes of their property at death.

The will should be typewritten. Handwritten wills are accepted in some states, so your particular estate laws need to be checked before executing a handwritten will. And in most cases, do no rely upon an oral will.

Although many states require only two witnesses to a will, several states require three witnesses. No state requires more than three witnesses. Check your state laws before you sign your will.

The persons signing as witnesses to your will should not be related to you, nor should they be beneficiaries under the will. The witnesses must watch the person making the will (known as the testator) sign the will, and must themselves sign the will in the presence of each other and the testator.

What Property Does A Will Cover? Property that you own in your name is typically covered by a will. In addition, certain forms of jointly owned property may be covered by a will. However, you may be surprised to learn that a will does not necessarily cover all of your property. For example, property that you own joint tenants with right of survivorship at your death passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant. If your main assets are a home and bank accounts held as joint tenants with right of survivorship, these items will pass automatically by law to the surviving joint tenant at your death regardless of what your will says.

Additionally, life insurance proceeds are paid to the beneficiaries listed on the life insurance contract, regardless of what the will says. Similarly, amounts held in IRAs, qualified retirement plans, or annuities may pass outside your will directly to the beneficiaries designated in the plan or account documents.

How assets are owned plays an important part in whether or not such assets are subject to the directions in a will. Basically, a will covers all of your property that is not otherwise subject to bypassing laws or contractual provisions.

When Should You Change Your Will? You should review your will once a year, or whenever important changes occur in your life. If your financial situation changes significantly, you should review or change your will. If you have a significant change in your health, you may need to review your will. If you become married or divorced, your will should be reviewed and redone. It is important to note that depending upon the laws in your state, marriage or a divorce may not automatically revoke an existing will.

What Happens If You Die Without A Will? If you choose not to prepare a will, and you have no surviving spouse or child, the property for which you worked a lifetime may pass to a distant (perhaps unknown) relative rather than to someone closer to you.

An example is when a husband with a modest amount of assets dies without a will. In most states, the wife gets the first $50,000 and a one-third share, the children two-thirds. Also, someone must be appointed and paid as a guardian of the children’s share.

We can cite many cases where states pass property not covered by a will to persons with no moral but every legal right to it. If you die without a will, one of your state-appointed beneficiaries can block the sale or gift of your property.

Please Note: any verbal expression of intent made by you during your lifetime will have absolutely no legal effect when you are dead. There are no exceptions to this rule.

We have heard of cases where the courts did not award custody of minor children to the surviving Christian parent.

The bottom line? Everyone has a will, either the one you prepare or the one your state prepares. Whom do you trust with your family and your assets?

SECULAR OR CHRISTIAN WILL?

A Christian will differs from a secular will in that a Christian will provides testimony of your Christian faith to your family and friends. Wording for a Christian will can range from a single statement of a few words about your faith to a lengthy proclamation.

OTHER TOOLS/DOCUMENTS FOR DAILY USE

There is a large of forms you can use in a variety of ordinary life circumstances with financial implications. For example, there is a set of authorizations and agreements to help you take care of your loved ones, pets and property. There are also documents to help you take care of consumer matters, such as terminating a joint credit card account.

What follows is a list and description of each of the general use forms that you might want to consider.

Cancel Membership of Subscription Notice to Terminate Joint Credit Card Account Request for Birth Certificate Special (Limited) Power of Attorney for Finances Authorization for Foreign Travel with Minor Authorization for Minor’s Medical Treatment Child Care Agreement Child Care Instructions Temporary Guardianship Authorization for Care of Minor Pet Care Agreement Elder Care Agreement Authorization to Drive a Motor Vehicle Housekeeping Services Agreement Notice to Put Name on “do Not Call” List General Bill of Sale for Personal Property

Cancel Membership Subscription
Use this form to cancel a magazine subscription or your membership in an organization. The form allows you to state the reason for the cancellation (perhaps you are no longer interested in the subject or cause), although you do not have to provide a reason. You can also use this form to request a refund of your membership or subscription fee, if you believe it is warranted.

Notice to Terminate Joint Credit Card Account
If you are separating from or divorcing a spouse or anyone with whom you have a joint credit card, you will want to immediately close any joint credit card accounts. This involves notifying all creditors of your request to close the accounts so that no new charges can be made. Use this form to accomplish this task.

Request for Birth Certificate
Use this form to request a birth certificate. There are many reasons why you may need a copy of your birth certificate. You may be required to present a copy when you apply for a passport, a Social Security card or a driver’s license. You may also need a birth certificate to prove that you are eligible for government benefits. For convenience, you may even want to keep copies of your family members’ birth certificates on file in your home.

Special (Limited) Power of Attorney for Finances
A limited power of attorney for finances lets you appoint someone (called your “attorney-in-fact”) to help you with one or more clearly defined tasks involving your finances or property. For example, you may want to name someone to monitor certain investments for you while you are on vacation–and sell them if necessary. Or you may need someone to sign business or legal papers for you while you are unavailable.

Authorization for Foreign Travel with Minor
If your young child will be traveling outside the United States with someone other than his or her parent or legal guardian, you should prepare an authorization for foreign travel. The form provides necessary proof that you have consented to the travel.

Authorization for Minor’s Medical Treatment
Creating a medical care authorization allows another adult to authorize necessary medical or dental treatment for your child if he or she is injured or becomes ill while under the care of another adult–for example, while playing on a sports team or staying with a babysitter.

Child Care Agreement
If you want to hire someone to care for your children in your home, you should prepare a child care agreement. Your childcare provider can be either live in (an au pair or nanny) or live out (a babysitter), part-time or full-time.

The CFM childcare agreement allows you to spell out the exact responsibilities of the position and to specify the child care provider’s hours, amount and schedule of payment, benefits and other important aspects of the job.

Child Care Instructions
Use this form to provide important information for babysitters and childcare providers, such as names and phone numbers of doctors and emergency contacts, and instructions abut meals, naps and other details of your child’s care.

Temporary Guardianship Authorization for Care of a Minor
If you leave your child in the care of another adult for a few days, weeks or months, you should authorize the caretaker to take any necessary decisions abut your child’s medical, educational and other care. You can do this by preparing a temporary guardianship authorization.

Pet Care Agreement
If you are going on a trip or will be otherwise unable to care for your pet for a period of time, you might leave your animal in the care of a friend, relative or neighbor. If you do so, it is prudent to prepare a written agreement setting out clear instructions for your pet’s care and clarifying each party’s responsibilities and expectations.

Elder Care Agreement
CFM’s elder care agreement is for people who wish to sign an agreement with an elder care provider who will take care of their older parent(s) or other elderly relatives(s) at home. The agreement allows you to spell out the exact responsibilities of the position and to specify the worker’s hours, amount and schedule of payment, benefits and other important aspects of the job.

Authorization to Drive a Motor Vehicle
Lending your vehicle to a friend or even a relative is not always as simple as handing over the keys. If the person who borrows your car is pulled over by the police or is involved in an accident, he or she will want to quickly prove that you agreed to the use. Otherwise, the driver may be detained while police investigate whether the car is stolen.

This simple authorization takes just a few minutes to complete, and it provides important legal proof that you have given someone else permission to drive your vehicle. The form is designed for a car, but it will work well for a motorcycle, truck or other motor vehicle, such as a motorboat.

Housekeeping Services Agreement
If you hire someone to clean or take care of your house on a regular basis, you can use CFM’s housekeeping services agreement. The agreement allows you to spell out the exact responsibilities of the position and to specify the housekeeper’s hours, benefits and other details.

Notice to Put Name on “Do Not Call” List
Federal law requires every telemarketer to keep list of consumers who say that they do not want to be called again. If you tell a telemarketer not to call you, but you get another call within 12 months, you can sue for up to $500.

You can use this form to prove that the telemarketer violated the law by calling you once you have asked them not to. End every unwanted call by stating “Put me on your ‘do not call’ list.” Then follow up by mailing the telemarketer this form that states the same thing, thereby generating irrefutable evidence of your request that they cease calling.

General Bill of Sale for Personal Property
Use this form to record the terms of the sale of personal property, such as a computer, a bicycle or a guitar. When you sell an item with this written bill of sale, you reduce the chance of dispute arising after the sale.

WARNING: Because there are special rules and considerations involved in transferring ownership of cars and other vehicles, this form is NOT appropriate to use when you sell a motor vehicle.

NOTICE!

The information contained in this unit is not intended as specific legal advice. Consult your attorney when considering any legal matter. State laws which govern wills, contracts and other documents vary and are subject to change.