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Home > Women & Money: Month 4

Women & Money: Month 4

May 8th, 2007 at 01:54 am


In Suze Orman's
Text is Women & Money and Link is http://www.amazon.com/Women-Money-Owning-Control-Destiny/dp/0385519311/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9414959-2747940?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178585075&sr=8-1
Women & Money book she lists 3 documents that every woman needs to have. They are:

- a will
- a revocable living trust with incapacity clause
- an advance directive and durable power of attorney for health care

A will alone is not enough if something were to happen to you. A will tells how you want your assets and material possessions to be distributed to your loved ones upon your death. It can also include who you want to have custody of your minor children. Almost every will goes through probate to establish that if is valid and a court order to distribute the contents of the will as stated. This process can take months or even years and cost a lot of money.

A revocable living trust is the most powerful of the must-have documents. Because it is revocable you can change it at any time. It is a living document in that it is in effect while you are living. Upon death, there is no probate period. The successor trustee (the one in charge after death of the trustee) signs an affidavit of the death of the trustee and then can sign papers to follow the trustees wishes as expressed in the living trust and will.

When setting up a trust make sure you fund it. To do this you must change the title of all property to be held in the trust from your own individual name to that of the trust.

What a trust contains:
- real estate
- nonretirement investments
- savings
- outstanding loans that have not been repaid

The trust should have an incapicity clause. This is in case you become incapable of managing matters while still alive. This clause will give someone of your choosing the legal authority to handle your affairs for you.

The trust will take care of your larger assets while the will is the place to state whom you would like to receive smaller assets that you have (family heirlooms, pictures, etc.)

An advance directive and durable power of attorney for health care is important in case we are ever physically incapable of speaking for ourselves. The advance directive will state the level of medical intervention you want if you are ever unable to speak for yourself. This is also known as a living will.

A durable power of attorney is someone you appoint that you trust to carry out your wishes if you are unable to speak. They will be your 'voice'. Put a lot of thought into your choice. It needs to be someone that is strong enough to stand against opposition by family that may not want to see your wishes carried out. Make sure that your entire family knows who you have chosen. This will avoid some hurt and angry feelings in the case of a tragedy when the news is sprung upon them.

1 Responses to “Women & Money: Month 4”

  1. Aleta Says:
    1179417067

    Thank you so much for these articles. They are extremely informative and helpful.

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