Wills
• Wills can designate the Guardian for children under 18. The Guardian is in charge of the children's physical well-being and the children will usually live with him or her.
• Wills affect any asset in a person's name which is not held jointly in a Trust, or is not designated to go by a transfer of death (TOD), or payable on death (POD) or beneficiary designations.
• Wills must be probated which will cause attorneys fees and court costs to be incurred.
• In most cases, the use of a Trust will avoid the delay caused by probate and will save the family of the deceased money which would have otherwise been spent on attorney's fees.
• Missouri Statutes adopted by the Legislature calculates the minimum Probate fees to the attorney. The Missouri Statutes set the attorney's fee for probating an estate between 2% and 5%. The attorney's fee per statute, for a $100,000 estate is $3300.
• The Attorney's fee to administer a trust at death is almost always lower than probating an estate.

Living Trusts
• Avoids probate
• Names Trustee to distribute assets at death (instead of a Court appointed Executor).
• Can accomplish estate tax planning to avoid estate tax.
• Avoids the Court's appointing a Conservator in case of incompetence.
• Is less expensive to administer than a Will because the assets in the Living Trust avoid probate.
• The assets are usually distributed to family members more quickly than a probate estate.

Powers of Attorney

Financial Powers of Attorney appoint one or more persons to handle the following for you:
• Sign contracts
• Conduct banking transactions
• Open and close accounts
• Sign deeds
• Sell your house
• Sue in your name
• Handle many other financial transactions

You may tailor your Financial Power of Attorney to:
• be valid only in the event if you become incompetent or if you are missing or held hostage (called a "Spring Durable Power of Attorney").
• be valid now but not if you become incompetent (called a "Power of Attorney").
• be valid if incompetence, or in the event you are missing or held hostage (Durable Power of Attorney).
 
Healthcare Powers of Attorney
A Healthcare Power of Attorney appoints someone to carry out your intent regarding healthcare decisions in the event you are unable to do so. If you expressed your intent in a Living Will, the person appointed (attorney-in-fact) should make the best decision possible under the given circumstances.
You should provide your attorney in fact with a copy of your Living Will.
 
Living Wills
A Living Wills is a statement of your intent regarding healthcare in the event you become incapable of expressing your desires. You may include a statement concerning feeding and hydration tubes. Share copies of your Living Will with your family and the Attorney in Fact named in your Healthcare Power of Attorney.

What to Bring to an Appointment

-Bank Accounts
-Life Insurance Policies
-Stocks
-Mutual Funds
-Real Estate

showing how each asset is owned.

If you have any of the following, please bring:

-Wills
-Trusts
-Powers of Attorney
-Living Wills
-Divorce Decrees (if applicable)

Hamra Law Firm, LLC
Susan E. Hamra
Attorney at Law

636-530-1600 phone
636-728-1681 fax
16141 Swingley Road
Suite 105
Chesterfield, Missouri 63017