Frequently Asked Questions about
Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, and Probate

• What else does Virginia estate planning involve?

There is more to estate planning than seeing an attorney to prepare a will or living trust, powers of attorney, and medical directives.

Some folks already have computer files or binders set up and marked “Estate Plan” or “In the event of my disability or death,” usually because they have already started their estate planning. If you don’t already have such a system, we will provide you with a checklist, a binder and set of labeled dividers. This binder should contain contain copies of documents your attorneys and advisors have prepared (wills, living trusts, health care powers and instructions, beneficiary designations, deeds, and powers of attorney). Other sections are for documents that you create or gather in the planning process (bank and brokerage information, lists of property, insurance and pension information, and the like).

But some sections of the binder will be empty when you take it home and we mark your file “completed.” You should review your estate-planning binder regularly, adding information and making new decisions over time. Its purpose is to help you document your decisions, to provide a reminder of the decisions not yet made, and, finally, to guide your loved ones in the event of your death or disability.

Estate planning requires a careful review of all of your property and your family’s situation. As with financial planning, it is a lifelong process that utilizes a variety of different tools. Our firm can help with the legal aspects of your estate planning work, but you are the ultimate “estate planner.”

You must decide what to tell your family now, and what information to provide in written documents (or not at all). You must review your situation regularly and update your estate plan, recognizing that you, and not your attorney, accountant, or financial advisor, always will have the best current understanding of your circumstances. And, of course, you must make sure that your family knows where to find your will and other important documents. Having a will or trust instrument that can’t be found is worse than having none at all.

“We can’t cross a bridge until we come to it; but I always like to lay down a pontoon ahead of time.” –Bernard M. Baruch