north carolina estate planning: the legal issues

NORTH CAROLINA ESTATE PLANNING -THE LEGAL ISSUES

CHERYL K. DAVID

North Carolina Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney

A Closer Look at Some of the Specific Types of Decisions and Issues You Will Have to Face

When You Make an Estate Plan

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North Carolina Estate Planning – The Legal Issues www.cheryldavid.com 3

In our second discussion about estate planning in the state of North

Carolina, we are going to take a closer look at some of the specific types of

decisions and issues you will have to face when you make a plan. What's

important to remember about estate planning is that all of the important

choices are up to you. You get to decide what you want, decide what is

important to you, and decide how best to craft your plan. While your lawyer

will give you advice about your options and tell you what legal

repercussions different choices will have, it is always up to you to make the

final decision.

INHERITANCE PLANNING

At the heart of most estate plans lies inheritance planning and decision-

making. The property you leave behind after you die—your estate—will

have to be transferred to new

owners. As the owner of the

property, and as an adult who

is mentally capable, you have

the legal authority to decide

who those new owners will be.

While there are some

limitations on the kinds of

inheritance choices you can

make when creating an estate plan, they are probably much less restrictive

than the belief. For example, while you cannot disinherit a spouse, you are

under no legal obligation to leave other family members any kind of


inheritance. Should you wish, you can leave your entire estate to a

charitable organization, a friend, coworker, or even complete strangers.

Even if you have children, grandchildren, parents, or other relatives, the

law does not require you to leave them inheritances.

Further, you have several different options in the way you choose to leave

inheritances. While many people choose to create a simple estate plan that

uses a last will and testament to pass inheritances, others choose other

devices, such as various kinds of trusts.nt differences.

INCAPACITY PLANNING

Your estate is the collection of property you leave behind after you die, but

also the property that will need to be taken care of should you become

incapacitated. Incapacitation doesn't happen to everyone, but when it does,

it can pose a significant problem. Should you lose your ability to make

choices, someone else will have to begin managing your property and your

affairs on your behalf. If you don't make an incapacity plan you cannot

control who this person is. Instead, you'll have to rely on a court's judgment


and hope that the court appoints a responsible person to manage your

affairs.

On the other hand, if you take the time to create an incapacity plan, you get

to choose the person who will manage your responsibilities should you lose

the ability to make citizens. Further, you can also choose the kinds of health

care treatments you wish to accept or refuse when you can no longer

communicate. These kinds of choices are especially important when, for

example, a person is suffering from a terminal illness and has specific

desires about the kind of medical treatment he or she wishes to receive.

PROBATE

One of the more practical concerns that most estate plans focus on is the

question of what to do about probate. Probate is the process that applies to

the transferring of estate property to new owners. Every estate will be

affected by probate to some extent, but people who create an estate plan

have the ability to greatly minimize probate.

But why should you care about probate? Why is minimizing it important?

Creating an estate plan that minimizes probate is important because the

probate process itself is often complicated, time-consuming, and expensive.

If you want your heirs to receive their inheritances as quickly and easily as

possible, creating a plan that focuses on minimizing probate is important.


TRUSTS

Another key part of many estate plans is creating and using various types of

trusts. While they are dozens or more types of trusts available, they are,

contrary to the popular misconception,

something that almost everyone can use.

A trust is a kind of legal entity that you can

use to, for example, minimize probate,

protect yourself against incapacitation,

reduce or eliminate potential estate taxes,

and secure many other potential benefits for

yourself and your estate.

When you create an estate plan, you and your

attorney will sit down to discuss the goals you wish to pursue. If a type of

trust exists that can help you achieve this goal, your attorney will explain

what you need to do to create it, as well as how it will affect your estate.

START PLANNING AS SOON AS YOU CAN

With all our talk about the intricacies of estate planning, the options

available to you, and the issues you will have to consider, let's take a

moment to consider the practical. No matter how much you learn about

estate planning, none of your knowledge will be useful unless you decide to

sit down and begin creating a plan today. You might have some clear wishes


about what you want to happen to your estate should you become

incapacitated, or know exactly how you want to pass on inheritances, but

your wishes will do you

no good unless you set

them down in a legally

enforceable manner.

In North Carolina,

creating an estate plan

is something that takes

time, effort, and a little discipline. Luckily, the Law Offices of Cheryl David

has been helping people in the Greensboro area create estate plans for

years. We have the expertise and experience necessary to help you create a

plan that fits each and every one of your needs. We advise our clients,

explain their options, and allow them to make the decisions that they feel

most comfortable with.

If you have yet to begin estate planning, it is always in your best interest to

begin as soon as possible.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cheryl David is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Baltimore School of Law, and the prestigious Trial Lawyer’s College presided over by Gerry Spence. A former Administrative Judge, Cheryl is certified as an Estate Planning Law Specialist by the ABA accredited Estate Law Specialists Board, Inc. She is also a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Medicaid Practice Systems and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

In 2008, Cheryl received the honor of becoming a Fellow with the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. The Fellow program recognizes Academy Members who demonstrate advanced expertise and significant practical experience in the total estate planning, trust, tax planning, guardianship, probate and estate administration fields. In order to maintain this advanced expertise, Cheryl takes over 36 hours of continuing education in Estate Planning, Elder Law, and Taxation each year. Also a Financial Planner, she holds the Series 7 and 66 Investment Licenses in addition to both Insurance and Long Term Care/Medicare designations.

Her professional capabilities, together with over 25 years in practice, have combined to bring positive change to the lives of over 4500 clients and their families.

528 College Road Greensboro, NC 27410 Phone: (336) 547-9999 Fax: (336) 547-9477

WWW.CHERYLDAVID.COM

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