Here is what you need to know.
A lot of us know that "I need a will" - especially the older we get.
It’s VERY IMPORTANT.
But a will is ACTUALLY THE LEAST IMPORTANT PART!
A "will" tells the people you leave behind what to do with your stuff and with your kids.
Unfortunately, that only deals with the SECOND stage of the actual problem.
We all know to buy life insurance. We buy car insurance. We buy health insurance. We buy homeowner's insurance. We buy renter's insurance. We buy business insurance. We buy umbrella insurance. We buy disability insurance.
We buy all these things to protect ourselves and protect our families.
But we forget something.
The MOST IMPORTANT PART of what we call an "estate plan" is what a will does not address.
A will only deals the second part - when you've passed away. But what is the first part?
A will misses the FIRST PART. The first part is when we are still here, but we can't personally take care of ourselves.
When we can't take care of our property, we can't take care of our kids, and we an’t take care of our pets, we’re here, but we’re not capable. That’s called being “incapacitated”. We’re unable to take care of ourselves and our obligations, and we’re still alive.
Unfortunately, a will only goes into effect after we've died.
But if we are STILL ALIVE but INCAPACITATED - a will does nothing yet!
INCAPACITY is the first part - and often the most important part!
Who gets to make the medical decisions for us? Who gets to and/or has to pay our bills for us? Who takes care of our kids? Who takes care of our pets? What if my spouse and I are in a car wreck together - what happens to our kids tonight?
A Healthy Estate Plan ™ answers these questions AHEAD OF TIME!
We don’t want the police and the courts to GUESS what we would have wanted.
We don’t want our families who love us to GUESS what we would have wanted. We DEFINITELY DON’T WANT THEM TO FIGHT ABOUT IT and TEAR THE FAMILY APART after we’ve died!
And we sure don’t want what the bad apple family members that don't like us want to try and think they can steal from us after we’re gone!
Here is an example what would happen without a proper plan: A husband and wife are in a car accident and are both taken to the hospital, unconscious. The paramedics or a nurse cuts his wallet out of his pocket with a pair of scissors. Then they go through the man's wallet looking for his ID. Or they go through a woman’s purse looking for hers.
If they find a driver's license, it only has an address - not a phone number - no instructions.
Their cell phones have passwords on them. Or even worse, the phones are still in the wrecked car or smashed beyond use. There's no one to call.
So they do the only thing they can do. They call the police to do a welfare check on their house. The police go to their house. The police ring the doorbell. The baby sitter answers. The police call Child Protective Services. C.P.S. shows up next. The police dismiss the babysitter and a C.P.S. worker takes the kids from their home that night and puts the kids in foster care.
The police also call animal control to take the dogs and the cat.
What about the fish tank?
The family might not ever see the pets again. What if the animal shelter accidentally euthanizes them? What if they accidentally put them up for adoption and another family takes them home?
The extended family fights CPS in an expensive battle to try to prove who you would have wanted the kids to go to. The pets maybe never come back. Maybe a relative goes to get them. But will your relatives have the paperwork that they need to get them?
They will if you have a Healthy Estate Plan! ™️
The number of minutes that it is acceptable for our clients' kids to be in foster care are ZERO!
The number of minutes that it is acceptable for our clients' pets to be at the animal shelter is: ZERO!
One of the things we do is we put a driver's-license-quality emergency instructions identification card with our client's photo, name, and emergency contacts listed on the card. That card STARTS the process.
One of the things we do is we give instructions to every baby-sitter that automatically puts into place the pre-determined plans - the Healthy Estate Plan! ™
Next, our clients' pre-arranged action plan instructs and enables exactly who can and should make our medical decisions for our clients.
Our client’s pre-arranged action plan enables and instructs exactly who can and should make your financial decisions if and when you are incapacitated. We give our clients the tools they need in order to do it.
Our tools are effective at the appropriate times, no sooner, but also right on time, when we need them.
We are also here to help to make sure it's done if that’s what you need. We have made a lot of trips to the hospital to make sure things are properly implemented. We make sure the important things are taken care of when it matters most.
Our founding attorney, Dana Christian Palmer has been practicing for over sixteen years decade focused on effective, real-world solutions to these problems.
We want you to live a better life because you came to us to create your customized plan for you. We want to eliminate these problems so that you can take care of the things that matter the most for you.
Our plans include wills, powers of attorney, medical directives, protections for you, protections for your children, protection for your pets. All of our plans include your Emergency Instructions ID's. We help you cover all of your needs.
Estate planning is the most commonly procrastinated protection. But when you need it - it is so important. Get it now to protect yourself and the people that you love.
Call 214-789-4835 to schedule your initial consultation today. You owe it to yourself and your family. Please call us right now. We are here to help you.
Contact
➤ LOCATION
550 South Watters Road, Suite 221, Allen, TX 75013
☎ Phone
(214) 789-4735
Elements of Your Plan
Medical
During incapacity
Your plan can provide instructions and authorizations for your medical care for when you become incapacitated. The plan determines who makes decisions for you. You can separate the responsibility for the decisions between different people in any way you choose. You can specify your standards of care and your preferences for life support and other medical issues in advance. Your instructions can eliminate fighting among those who love you the most because you decided those things in advance, yourself, instead of leaving it to them to guess. You can also receive treatments faster in some situations by giving proper permissions to the people you want making decisions for you for those times when you can't communicate those wishes about your own care.
Living Trust
A living trust is a legal device that allows your property to pass to the people you want it to after your death without having to go through the probate process. It also allows your trustee to immediately take actions when you're incapacitated. Both you and your spouse can function as your own trustee while you're alive, willing and able; and, other trustees immediately can take over when you're incapacitated. There are several advantages to using a living trust - privacy, quickness, asset protection after death, ease of transition, and ease of transfer. At death, the trust is already set up and assets are properly titled. It can be a blessing to remove the difficulties of the probate process. It can be an important tax planning tool as well, depending on the size of the estate.
Children and Pets Protection
during incapacity
Your plan can include instructions and authorizations for your children's physical care and for your pets' physical care for when you become incapacitated. Immediate actions can go into place. You will have good instructions for Child Protective Services (CPS) that help them get your children and your pets into the caretakers that you want without the delay of them having to try to figure that out on their own. Instructions are provided to police and emergency responders that clearly provide them legal instructions about who to release your children and pets to. You protect your children and your pets by deciding who will take care of them if you're not able to do so. You will have the legal documents in place that allow them to act immediately. You should provide these instructions to your childcare providers.
Child and Pet Protection
After Parent's Death
Elements of your plan that we can put in place for when you get incapacitated can also apply after your death. You want to plan for permanent solutions and temporary ones. You have options about whether you want to distribute your property to your children outright, directly; or, whether you want to provide it in a trust. A trust can provide for the health, education, maintenance, and support of your children; and, it will also protect against their creditors, unwise financial decisions due to their age, tax protections, and other issues such as drug addiction, or their own incapacity. We focus on protections for their physical well being and their financial well being.
Financial
During Incapacity
Your plan can include instructions and authorizations that allow someone that you trust to make sure that you, your spouse, your children, and your pets are financially able to do what is necessary to function when you're not there to physically take care of the finances. Often this will be your spouse, a loved one that you trust, or it can also be a financial institution. There are a variety of methods and legal instruments to accomplish these protections. You want to choose who you trust with your money wisely - because you want to have some left when you're better again! We'll work out the details with your options and preferences and limitations so that they can take proper care of your money, in the way you want.
Emergency Identification Card
Plan and Procedures
The Emergency Identification Card is one protection that helps your plan take effect in the event of an emergency. Put it in your wallet like your driver’s license. If you're incapacitated, your emergency contacts are listed on your card so they can be immediately called. Keep your card in your wallet or purse IN THE FRONT of your credit cards or driver's license. It's designed with a red band at the top that says, "EMERGENCY INSTRUCTIONS CARD" so that it's the first thing someone sees when they open your wallet. Keep the documents of your plan in the book that we provide you. We'll send a letter to all your emergency contacts to let them know about your plan and where it's located. We'll also have a copy of your instructions that we can give to medical staff or your emergency contacts as you may specify.
“The acceptable number of minutes that our clients’ children are in foster care and their pets are with animal control is ZERO.”
Let's Chat.
Use the form below to contact us to get us started helping you. Include your name and at least one way for us to contact you. To help us best service your inquiry, please tell us in general the issue you’re having before telling us your specific details - because first we have to make sure we don't have any conflicts of interest before you tell us any confidential information. Filling out this form does not create an attorney-client relationship yet and this form is not yet confidential - that will be in a next step after we complete the conflict-of-interest check first. You may also email or call us to make an appointment. We look forward to working with you
