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Estate Planning Essentials

By: Corinne Cantwell Heggie

Estate planning is important for everyone, and there’s no better time than the present to learn about a few essential documents that can protect you, your family, and your property from loss and taxes. Those documents include:

  1. Last Will and Testament

A will is a document that a person writes to identify beneficiaries of property he owns in his own name. The named beneficiaries in his will receive the property when he dies.

  1. Health Care Power of Attorney

A health care power of attorney is a document a person signs to name a trusted adult to make healthcare decisions for him when he is living and cannot make decisions himself.

  1. Property Power of Attorney

A property power of attorney is a document a person signs to name a trusted adult to make financial decisions about his property when he is living and cannot make decisions himself.

  1. Living Trust

A living trust adds value to estate plans to avoid taxes and to plan for in case of incapacity or disability. There are many other reasons a living trust adds value to estate plans.

To learn more about these documents and why they’re important, read the full article in the WBAI Fall 2022 Newsletter on page 26.