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Basic estate plan, when someone comes in, they say they want a will. Well, they really don’t know what they want. They hear someone tell them they want a will, and they come to us. So what I recommend, if it’s a simple or small estate plan, is a durable power of attorney so that they can keep their affairs going when they become disabled. Along with that is a health care proxy.
It does the same thing, only it’s for the physical, or mental, or health issues, or at the worst is at the end of life. And then it obviously would be a last will, and that essentially appoints a personal representative to gather up their assets, to pay their debts, and to make the distributions according to the written instructions in the will. And if necessary, we’ll also go into the trust. And for that we can do some tax planning or some financial security for the family, or if they’re worried about a divorce and their sons, or the grandchildren, or the daughters, we can also put language in the trust to try to prevent the divorcing spouse from obtaining a large portion of the inheritance.
Hingham, MA estate attorney Ronald F. Driscoll gives his recommendations for what should be included in a basic estate plan.