What do you believe will be acceptable in terms of quality of life if you become incapacitated, or as you approach death naturally or as a result of an illness or trauma? A living will (also known as a health care directive or advance directive) gives each person the opportunity to clarify wishes that family members may someday be asked to honor and enforce.
Your loved ones should be safe and provided quality care when they are being provided care in a nursing home, personal care home or independent living facility. Unfortunately, many elderly or incapacitated individuals suffer injuries and other trauma as the result of negligence on behalf of the staff of an elder care facility.
West & Associates, P.C. prepares individually tailored revocable and irrevocable trusts, last will and testament, powers of attorney, living wills, and guardianship agreements ensuring that clients’ goals are carried out in times of illness and at the end of life.
West & Associates, P.C. Attorneys at Law will assist clients with preparing powers of attorney. Powers of attorney may be restricted for use only in specific situations (such as physical or mental incapacitation, or inaccessibility due to travel or imprisonment, for example), or they may be written to grant liberal authority to sign checks, buy or sell personal property, or in any other way act on behalf of another person.
Efficient, timely probate administration after death ensures that the process of distribution of assets to beneficiaries can be resolved quickly. Often, families are not aware of related matters that require attention. For example, a Pennsylvania estate tax return must be filed within nine months of the recorded date of death.
We advise closely held businesses, families, and individuals on issues such as:
- Minimizing estate, gift, and other taxes
- Revocable trusts
- Irrevocable trusts
- Insurance trusts
- Special needs trusts
- Retirement and long-term care planning
- Providing for disabled individuals
- Administration of estates and trusts
- Guardianship
With a will, the assets of a person who dies in Pennsylvania will be distributed according to plan. Without a will, that plan is already dictated by State statute. In such a situation, the person is said to have died intestate. When there is a will, the person’s assets will normally be distributed according to the decedent’s wishes as specified in the will, not the State’s plan.