Will:
A Will is a person's final request as to how their belongings, property
and sometimes guardianship of minor children, shall be administered upon
their death.
Estate:
A Will has no legal effect until the testator (person who made the Will)
dies and an Estate is opened in Probate Court (Probate Court is also
called Chancery Court).
Probate:
Once an estate is opened, the terms of the Will is probated meaning the
testator's final request is carried out until all of the requests are
complete. This process takes any where from five months to 10 years,
depending upon the complexity of the estate, how much the estate is
worth, how many heirs, what type of taxes are due and payable, if there
are any businesses owned by the testator, whether the Will is contested,
etc.
Living Wills :
A Living Will is different than a Will in that the terms of the Living
Will are carried out while the testator is still living. A Living Will
provides the wishes of the testator if the testator is incapacitated and
unable to make a decision for themselves at that time. The usual
decisions that are determined by a Living Will are (1) whether or not
the testator wants to be kept alive on life support or be fed and kept
alive on any artificial means, and (2) whether the testator wishes
his/her organs to be donated upon death. Once a Living Will is executed,
the testator needs to give a copy to all immediate relatives, his/her
doctor, his/her hospital and anyone else who would need to know the
testator's decisions.
Deeds and Powers of Attorney:
The Law Office of Richard M. Brooks also can draft deeds, deeds of
trust, perform title searches and title opinions, powers of attorney,
basic contracts and any other type of legal document.
