Likely the most important decision you will make in preparing your estate plan is choosing your “agents.” These are the people that you designate to handle your affairs – whether they be health related or financial and whether these decisions need to be made before and/or after your death.
The most important factor above all else in making these decisions is trust. Do you trust that the individual you name will work in your best interest, be diligent and follow your wishes? If not, then you need to consider different options. The power given to an agent is significant and can easily be abused. Although an agent can be sued in court to properly perform his or her duties, often times it is too late to recover from the mistakes that were made.
If you are lucky and have several people you can trust to take on this job, then how do you choose? You have to take into consideration many factors that if you choose to select my firm to prepare your estate planning, can be discussed in further detail. It is not as simple as choosing your oldest child or your closest living family member. Although that may make the decision very easy, it may very well not be the best one.
When you’ve decided to implement your estate plan, call my office to set an appointment so that we can discuss the details of agent selection.