Don't let someone else decide your funeral and burial arrangements
I am amazed at how little thought, let alone time, most people invest in planning their own funerals! During our lives, we spend an enormous amount of time planning our weddings, vacations, and other events. But when we die, we delegate to others the details of the last event that could make the most significant statement about our lives. What a lost opportunity!
You should discuss these matters with your family and provide written, signed instructions regarding your wishes. For this purpose, I have created a Funeral and Burial Instruction Form that you can download from the "Quick Links" section in this newsletter. (In a subsequent issue, I will discuss and provide a link to another important form, the Right of Disposition of Remains.)
Included in your written instructions could be whether or not you want to be cremated, what mortuary you prefer, what kind of funeral service you desire, who you wish to serve as pallbearers, where you want to be buried, and what kind of gravestone by which you want to be remembered. You may even want to write your obituary. If you don't care at all what arrangements your family makes, your family should know that too, so that they can be assured that they are doing what you wanted.
Another major reason why you should plan these matters well before your death is that they can cost a significant amount of money. Just like grocery shopping on an empty stomach can increase your food bill, making such decisions at a time of emotional distress can also cost much more.
You can get more information and guidance about funeral planning at the following resources: www.funerals.org; www.nfda.org; and from books such as At Journey's End (Fatteh, Health Information Press); and The Profits of Death (Roberts, Five Star). At the minimum, please complete the form I created to help you plan, and keep the form with your other estate planning documents. |
Employee of the Quarter
For the past nine years, Darelene Hartmier has served the clients and staff of Roberson Law as Paralegal for the Fiduciary and Guardianship Department. Darelene not only prepares and files the court accountings and does the bookkeeping for all of the clients for whom Nancy serves as Guardian or Agent, but she also serves as a liaison between the client's caregivers and doctors to ensure that the clients for whom Nancy is responsible receive the best medical care and treatment.
Darelene and her husband, Bud, have a blended family of 5 children, 14 grandchildren, and 1 great granddaughter. Darelene finds the most enjoyment out of going to church and spending time with her friends and family. She especially enjoys visiting with them at her "home away from home" on the lake in St. Mary's where she enjoys fishing and camping.
Because most of the clients for whom Nancy serves as Guardian or Agent do not have local family members to visit them, Darelene takes a personal interest in all of her clients by visiting them, sending them cards, and even on occasions having some of them join her for holidays. Darelene truly cares for her clients, and for this reason alone, we would like to honor and congratulate Darelene. |
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Senior Health Fair & Seminar - Don't Miss It! |
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Saturday, May 16, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the David H. Ponitz Center at Sinclair Community College.
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Roberson Law will have a booth at the event and will be giving away free Living Wills and fresh baked cookies!
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Nancy will speak from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. on "Estate Planning for Seniors."
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Need a Speaker for your event?
Did you know that Nancy is an author and frequent speaker to various civic and religious organizations? Nancy was recently the featured speaker for the Dayton chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and she will also be a featured speaker in May for the Senior Health Ohio Fair at Sinclair Community College.
Nancy combines legal advice with her personal story about the tragedy in her life that motivated her to pursue the area of estate planning and probate law. If you would like Nancy to speak at your organization, club, or house of worship, please call the office at 937-643-2000 and ask to speak to Judy Williams, or go to our website to view Nancy's speaking schedule. | |
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Welcome!
In this issue, I have included articles about popular issues about which many people seek counsel. Living Wills are a hot topic these days, so I encourage you to carefully consider the article I wrote about them.
After my first husband died unexpectedly, I wondered for years if I gave him the burial arrangements he would have wanted. Accordingly, I have written an article about making your own funeral and burial arrangements and included a free download of forms that you can complete so that you can make your wishes known in advance.
Lastly, during my 25 years of practicing law, I have had many clients come to me to handle their spouse's estates and then subsequently return to get Premarital Agreements when they decide to remarry. It is for this reason why I have included an article about the need to revise your estate planning documents when you have experienced a major event in your life.
I hope that you have a wonderful spring season. I thank you for your continued support of my practice.
Nancy A. Roberson |
The document you shouldn't live without 
Many of you remember the highly publicized case of Terri Schiavo, the severely incapacitated Florida woman who died March 31, 2005, after a long family struggle over her care. The controversy surrounded the fact that Terri did not have written instructions about her health care wishes while she was in a permanently unconscious state. These written instructions are generally called "Health Care Directives," which include several forms. I am only going to discuss the Living Will in the article.
Many people confuse the Living Will with the Last Will and Testament. Both are important, but not having a Living Will can often have more disastrous consequences than not having a Last Will and Testament.
A Living Will is a written document in which you declare your intentions regarding the use of life-sustaining treatment if you are terminal or permanently unconscious. A Living Will usually directs that life-sustaining medical treatment be withheld or withdrawn if a you are unable to make informed medical decisions and are terminal or permanently unconscious.
Many people think that Living Wills are necessary only if you are going to be admitted into the hospital for a medical procedure, but that is not true. Unfortunately, most of the people in the news who could have used a Living Will never planned on going to the hospital and ended up leaving the decisions about their care to the discretion of a physician who was required to give life support regardless of whether or not there was any hope of recovery.
At Roberson Law, we feel so strongly about Living Wills that we will provide the forms at no cost to anyone who requests them. However, if you would like us to complete, witness, and notarize your Living Will, we will provide this service for only $45.00 during the month of May, which is 10% off the original cost of Living Will preparation.
Act today! Please don't delay in getting this important document prepared. |
Are you newly married, do you have a new baby, or did your spouse die?
A common inquiry we receive is how long estate planning documents are valid, or when Wills and Trusts, need to be updated.
In general, you should review your estate plan whenever (1) the value of your assets has significantly increased or decreased; (2) the needs of your beneficiaries change; (3) the tax laws are modified; (4) your personal circumstances have changed, such as a birth, death, or marriage; or (5) you move to another state. My experience suggests that no more than five years should pass without a careful review. If your circumstances do change or you have any questions, we will be happy to meet with you to review your situation. Furthermore, if you move to another state, you should have your documents checked by an attorney in that state. Please advise us if you move anywhere so that we can keep your file data current.
If you have previously had a Will prepared by Roberson Law, you have a new baby, and you are planning on having more children, you can probably wait to update your Will until you are fairly certain that your family is complete. This is because the Wills that we write at Roberson Law include future children too, unless you have specifically told us to not include additional children. Obviously, if you have a new baby and you have never had your Will prepared, you need to get that done as soon as possible after the baby's birth so that you can designate the baby's guardian upon your death or disability. You don't want the court to make that important decision for you!
If you are getting married, you will most certainly need to get your estate planning documents revised, especially if it is your second marriage and you have children from a prior marriage who you want to receive most, if not all, of your estate.
According to Ohio law, a person cannot disinherit his or her spouse without a premarital agreement or probate-avoiding asset arrangements. Therefore, if you are remarried and want to ensure that your children will get an inheritance upon your death, you will need to revise your estate planning documents. If you do not, your new spouse could get a substantial portion of your estate, and your children could get significantly less than you intend.
If your spouse has recently died, you should update your estate planning documents because you probably have your spouse listed as the fiduciary (Agent, Executor, Trustee, for example) in your documents. In addition, you should update the beneficiary designations on your payable-on-death and transfer-on-death assets.
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