The Legal Documents You Need in 8 Minutes

Legal documents help you grow and protect your wealth, establish family decision-making, and successfully transfer your property to the next generation without unnecessary loss or stress.

Illness or advanced old age may render you unable to manage your health and finances alone. In such a case, medical providers require the following legal documents:

Health Care Power-of-Attorney

HIPPA-compliant medical records release

Advance Directive

Financial Institutions require a Financial Power of Attorney.

When you pass, the property you once owned will transfer to your loved ones by one of the following methods:

Last Will and Testament

Revocable Trust

Transfer on Death Deed

Beneficiary Designation

If you are married, the only way to leave your property to your spouse and protect it from Medicaid spend-down and liens if they become ill is by funding a Spousal Protection Trust. Authorized by federal law, this trust also captures any estate tax credit afforded your estate. The following states have a death tax:

Connecticut

District of Columbia

Hawaii

Illinois

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Minnesota

New York

Oregon

Rhode Island

Vermont

Washington

Federal law requires that a Will creates a Spousal Protection Trust. If you are married and wish to avail yourself of the most powerful asset protection trust in American jurisprudence, you must have a Will. Avoid living trusts or transfer-on-death deeds.