The News

Estate Planning:

What is it and why do we do it?

You spend your entire life creating wealth. The more wealth you create the more unhappy the people you leave behind will be without the proper estate planning. Estate planning allows you to decide while you are alive how your assets will be distributed. It also allows you to protect your heirs from unanticipated devastating expenses ranging from debts to taxes to administrative fees.

You may recall that during the final weeks of his life, former President Richard Nixon refused "heroic measures" and received only palliative (comfort-easing) care at his home. Similarly, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis refused life-prolonging medical intervention before her death from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Former President Nixon and Mrs. Onassis both retained control over their final medical care through use of a living will and a health care power of attorney.