Brooklyn Estate Litigation Attorney Jules Haas’ Tips for Growing Families

For young families in Brooklyn, estate planning may feel like a distant problem compared to securing childcare during the work week, registering for preschools, and figuring out how to manage a fixed amount of time and money among a growing group of loved ones.

But estate planning is about more than inheritance or large estates—it is about planning for your children’s care, your spouse’s and your own wishes in the case of incapacity, and protecting your extended family from the emotional and financial costs of trying to sort these issues out in court.

Whether your family’s financial situation resembles that of the Huxtables in Brooklyn Heights^[1] or the Nolans in Williamsburg^[2], the services provided by Brooklyn estate litigation attorney Jules Haas will help you protect your family’s and your own financial, medical and legal rights.

For growing families with parents in their prime earning years, estate concerns may involve issues regarding inheritance or trusts. For many young families, important other estate concerns often involve 1) arranging for a child’s care, 2) leaving explicit instructions about your preferences for medical care, and 3) making sure that your possessions and property go to the right people.

These concerns fall under the umbrellas of advance directives and wills.

With guidance from Brooklyn estate litigation attorney Jules Haas, a set of advance directives can be created for you and your spouse or partner. Below you can read about the most common types of advanced directives and wills, and see which ones address your family’s concerns.

Advance directives are instructions that you provide specifying the actions that should be taken on your behalf in the event that due to illness or incapacity you are unable to make or communicate those decisions.

A living will expresses your wishes about end of life health care treatment in the event you become mentally and/or physically incapable of communicating those wishes. This document concerns decisions regarding the use of or termination of life support. A living will is very important because it puts your wishes regarding the use of artificial means for prolonging life in writing. It gives your health care agent and others guidance in this regard.

A health care proxy is a document in which you designate a person that will be responsible for making health care decisions for you in the event you are unable to make them for yourself. There are countless decisions regarding medical and health care including the interaction with medical professionals that a Health Care Agent may be involved with. Health Care directives such as a Health Care Proxy can also help avoid the need to have a Court appointed Article 81 Guardian since the Health Care Agent is authorized to make personal needs health care decisions.

A Durable Power of Attorney is a document that allows a person to appoint an agent to make decisions regarding property matters. The agent must be a person that is trustworthy and he or she is required by statute to sign the Power of Attorney and accept the responsibilities of the position.

A last will (or Last Will and Testament) is a legal document where you appoint a person (or more than one person) to be responsible for managing your estate (bank accounts, real estate, cars, insurance, possessions, etc.) and provides for the transfer of your property in the event of your death.

Though the circumstances outlined above represent worst case scenarios, the purpose is to keep those “worst case scenarios” from getting worse. Brooklyn estate litigation attorney Jules Haas will help you prepare for the worst, protect your assets, and once complete, put it out of your mind.

Making plans to prepare for the worst is a wise choice, like getting car insurance and going for yearly medical checkups. Like regular checkups, living wills are something that doctors recommend.

A personal note from Mr. Haas:

I have many years of experience working with and advising clients in the creation and implementation of plans that effectively express the clients’ personal desires regarding the disposition and protection of assets while providing potential tax advantages and security for family and beneficiaries.

You can contact me by phone at (212) 355-2575 or fill out my contact form.

^[1] from Bill Cosby’s 1980s sitcom “The Cosby Show”

^[2] from Betty Smith’s 1943 novel “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”