Hi Anna. Everything happening right now really has me thinking I need to get a simple will done right away, just in case. Can you help me with this?
Hi friends! I’ve received many similar emails, texts, and DMs lately, so don’t feel like you are alone if the events of the past few days have you thinking about your own will and plans for your kids, should the unthinkable happen to you. There are three things I want you to know right now:
First, it is my job to think about all the bad things that might happen, so that you can be prepared without having to think about it too deeply. Believe it or not, estate planning attorneys have been thinking about what happens to you when you get really sick since way, way before this pandemic started.
Second, the most important documents, right now, are not wills. The most important documents are the ones that specify who makes medical decisions for you, who can access your bank accounts to keep paying your bills, and who will have custody of your kids while you are incapacitated. Most of you will survive this pandemic, but there may be times when at least some of you cannot care for your families or make your own health care decisions. Let’s plan for when this happens to us, and then hope that it doesn’t happen to us.
Third, while wills are important for making sure most of your stuff goes to the right person after you pass, it is also important to look at your retirement accounts and life insurance beneficiaries. Those assets will transfer to the person you list, and will not go to the person you name in your will (unless those names match). You can have a great will, but if all of your significant assets go around the will, it won’t do much good.
A couple things to note:
If you are doing this yourself, how you sign these documents is really important. Powers of attorney need to be notarized, and this cannot yet be done virtually in Washington. A notary public needs to watch you sign, in person. Banks and shipping centers often have a notary available for customers, if you are in a hurry (maybe call first and see if you can get an appointment to reduce waiting time in the lobby). If I draft your documents, I can also notarize them at signing.
Wills are trickier — you need two witnesses who are not related to you or named in your will to watch you sign. While not required, it is a good ideas to have witnesses sign a statement about witnessing your signature and have that statement notarized. This means you need at least two other people to be physically in the same location as you in order to make your will effective, and three (a notary) is better. Fortunately, you can watch from at least 6 feet away. My favorite signing of the last week was outside, in the sunshine, with liberal use of hand sanitizer as we passed papers back and forth.
I am currently taking new clients. To practice social distancing, we are meeting initially through zoom, and using my secure online portal to share drafts. Contact me today to set up a time to talk about getting your documents in order, so you can be prepared, just in case.
