Albemarle Tradewinds February 2017 Web Final Opt
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Stella Knight<br />
Attorney<br />
Estate Planning & Elder Law<br />
Wills and Trusts<br />
Power of Attorney & Living Wills<br />
Asset Protection<br />
Guardianships for Adults & Children<br />
Probate<br />
Licensed in North Carolina & Florida<br />
751 Body Rd, Hertford NC 27944<br />
(252)264-3600<br />
Home Visits Aailable<br />
website - http://www.stellaknightlaw.com/<br />
Getting Your House in Order – Part 1<br />
By: Stella Knight<br />
When winter storm Helena struck our area last month,<br />
many people were caught unprepared. One day you’re<br />
enjoying your home and neighborhood; the next, your<br />
world is an icy wonderland. While winter ice storms and<br />
hurricanes cannot be forecast with certainty, a wise person<br />
once said, “Death and taxes are a sure thing.”<br />
This is the fi rst of a two-part series designed to assist<br />
you with your estate planning. I found these suggestions<br />
most timely for my own estate planning and believe that<br />
even if you implement only one point from this list, those<br />
you leave behind will benefi t.<br />
1. Make a treasure map. Make sure you have a list of<br />
your assets and where they are located. Your family<br />
members may spend a lot of time and money searching<br />
for assets if you do not make a list. Sometimes they are<br />
looking for small insurance policies or old stock certifi -<br />
cates. If bought many years ago, these assets may be<br />
worth a lot of money, but if they don’t know you were a<br />
shareholder, they may be lost.<br />
2. Make a list of your valuable items. These items could<br />
be of monetary or sentimental value. It is important for<br />
your family to know why an item is valuable. Often, a<br />
painting, a piece of furniture, a statue, or a decoy will be<br />
sold at an estate sale for less than its true value unless<br />
it is known that it has a special signature, it was created<br />
by a particular artist, etc. Also, sentimental value should<br />
be listed for certain articles – my great grandmother’s<br />
chair or the ring my mother left me are a few examples.<br />
This is important for family members and the sentimental<br />
value may be lost if you do not point it out. Sometimes<br />
the use of a video with a narrative may be helpful.<br />
3. Write a guilt burden release letter. This letter will state<br />
what kind of care you want should you become incapacitated.<br />
If you want your children to put you in a nursing<br />
home when you can no longer take care of yourself, then<br />
this sort of letter would relieve the family from making<br />
any kind of decision which will create a burden of guilt.<br />
If you wish your assets to be spent on private care, the<br />
decision should be yours to make while you still have the<br />
capacity to do so.<br />
4. Make funeral arrangements in advance. State the<br />
church or synagogue. Give specifi c details. Do you<br />
want to be buried or cremated?<br />
5. Keep important documents with your will or state<br />
where these documents can be found. Such documents<br />
include stock certifi cates, deeds, and life insurance<br />
policies.<br />
Part two of this series will offer more estate planning<br />
suggestions that will not only benefi t those you love, but<br />
might even save your estate unnecessary expenses. I<br />
hope you will keep this article with your will or trust instrument,<br />
and re-read it periodically as the need arises.<br />
Stella Knight is an attorney licensed in North Carolina<br />
and Florida, with a major area of her law practice<br />
emphasizing estate planning, probate, trusts, wealth<br />
preservation and elder law. The information contained in<br />
this article is of a general nature and does not constitute<br />
legal advice. If you have questions, consult with a<br />
qualifi ed attorney.<br />
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facebook.com/<strong>Albemarle</strong>TradingPost <strong>Albemarle</strong> <strong>Tradewinds</strong> January <strong>2017</strong> 17
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