• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sinclair Prosser Gasior

Annapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Call Now: (410) 573-4818

Attend a Free Workshop Trustee School

  • Home
  • About Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Founding Attorneys
    • Meet Our Team
  • Services
    • Annapolis, MD Asset Protection and Business Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Annapolis, MD Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Annapolis, MD Trust Administration & Probate
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Annapolis, MD Incapacity Planning
    • Annapolis, MD LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Annapolis, MD Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Annapolis, MD Special Needs Planning
    • Estate Planning for Young Families
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Definitions
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Estate Planning
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid
      • Power of Attorney
      • Probate Avoidance
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills
    • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Probate Resources
    • Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Trust Administration
      • Estate Planning for Niches
    • Top 10 Estate Planning Techniques
    • Newsletters
  • COMMUNITIES WE SERVE
    • Anne Arundel County
      • Annapolis
      • Crownsville
      • Davidsonville
      • Highland Beach
      • Millersville
    • Baltimore County
    • Calvert County
      • Dunkirk
      • Huntingtown
      • Owings
    • Charles County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Waldorf
    • District of Columbia
    • Howard County
    • Maryland
      • Clarksville
      • Columbia
      • Ellicott City
    • Prince George County
      • Bowie
      • Fort Washington
      • Glenn Dale
    • Queen Anne’s County
      • Grasonville
      • Queenstown
      • Stevensville
    • St. Mary’s County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Leonardtown
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • BLOG
  • Contact Us
  • Make A Payment
  • Client Portal
Home / Estate Planning / Good Decisions are Important in Creating Your Estate Plan

Good Decisions are Important in Creating Your Estate Plan

January 27, 2015 by Sinclair Prosser Gasior

Nicole Livingston, Attorney When you create an estate plan, you choose people to make decisions for you, such as agents, guardians, executors, or trustees. Often, people do not give much thought to those decisions, just naming their oldest child or whoever pops into their mind. The choices for these roles are perhaps the most important decisions to make. Good choices can help to ensure your wishes are carried out while bad choices can create turmoil and waste assets.

In a Will, you will name a personal representative also known as an executor. The responsibility of that person, persons or institution is to settle your estate according to the terms of your last Will and Testament with the supervision of the Register of Wills. In an Inter-Vivos Trust (also known as a Living Trust) or a Testamentary Trust (a trust created under your Will), a trustee is named to carry out the terms of the trust, generally without court supervision. The trustee’s role may be simple in that the trustee facilitates the distribution of assets after your death. Or the trustee’s role may be long term and technical, such as overseeing the filing of tax returns, overseeing the management of a special needs trust or spendthrift trust.

In a General Durable Power of Attorney, you appoint someone to make decisions for property while you are living. For example, your “agent” could file income tax returns for you, change beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement plans, etc. The powers granted can be limitless, depending on the comfort of the grantor. Many institutions, however, are skeptical of accepting property powers of attorney. They may require it be specific only for the purpose for which it is being used, such as purchasing a home, in which case they may want terms of the contract detailed in the document itself. Also, the agent’s role under a power of attorney ends at your death.

In a Health Care Power of Attorney, you appoint someone to make medical decisions for you in the event you can no longer do it yourself. A Living Will can be used to express wishes you have regarding life-prolonging measures. Organ donation and specific religious preferences, such as a blood transfusion, can be outlined in this document.

Federal laws and regulations have created privacy protections for your medical information. These laws are known as “HIPAA” (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Now physicians, hospitals, health insurers and other “covered entities” must comply with strict rules or face fines and potential criminal penalties. An innocent mistake would incur a fine of $100. More serious breaches of privacy, such as releasing information for malicious harm, could result in fines up to $250,000 and 10 years in prison. Understandably, health care providers are being extremely careful about the release of medical information in the face of such penalties. That is why it is important for you to execute a medical release form that tells your health care provider who may access your medical records.

Making your decisions as to who will act as your trustee, executor, power of attorney and health care agent should be given careful consideration. The trustee, executor, and power of attorney may be a family member, friend, attorney, CPA or financial institution. There are pros and cons to any choice you make and you will want to discuss your options with your trusted advisors. The health care agent may be a friend or a relative. Generally, attorneys, CPAs and financial institutions will not act in this capacity due to the emotional and legal complications that surround personal, medical decisions.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Sinclair Prosser Gasior
Sinclair Prosser Gasior
Our firm is dedicated to providing you with quality estate planning resources, so you can become familiar with all of the existing options. When you visit or call our office, we want you to feel comfortable discussing such an important issue concerning both you and your family. We want to arm you with the information you need to make an informed decision about your family’s future.
Sinclair Prosser Gasior
Latest posts by Sinclair Prosser Gasior (see all)
  • How Often Should I Meet with an Estate Planning Attorney? - January 18, 2018
  • Tax Law Changes for 2018 - December 29, 2017
  • Dedicated Gardeners & Creative Spaces in Annapolis, MD - May 30, 2017

Filed Under: Estate Planning, Trustee Tagged With: Comprehensive Estate Plan, Estate Plans that Work, Executor

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Annapolis probate attorney
How Social Media Posts Might Impact a Will Contest
Bowie estate planning attorneys
Can I Prevent Someone from Contesting My Will?
Estate Planning Mistakes
living trust
Three Things a Living Trust Won’t Accomplish
What is the Most Important Estate Planning Document?
Tax Law Changes for 2022

Primary Sidebar

Download our free estate planning worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Testimonials

5 Stars
Client Review
September 3, 2020
    

We initiated estate planning following a presentation by Sinclair Prosser Attorney Jon Gasior. We were so impressed, we contracted with them to complete our estate planning. Subsequently, we assembled information on our assets and Sinclair Prosser Gasior did the rest. Correspondence was communicated to our financial institutions and the estate was established. We were very pleased with the courteous manner of the Sinclair Prosser Gasior staff. However, it was their professionalism that made us satisfied we chose this firm to handle our estate. We have nothing but praise for Sinclair Prosser Gasior .

default image
– Walter K.

Blog Subscription

Sign up for our blog to receive all of our latest estate planning news and updates!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ANNAPOLIS

900 Bestgate Road
Suite 103, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

BOWIE

4201 Mitchellville Road
Suite 403, Bowie, MD 20716
Phone: (301) 970-8080
Fax: (410) 573-2802

MILLERSVILLE

1520 Jabez Run Rd
Suite 300, Millersville, Maryland 21108
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

WALDORF

Hamilton Centre II
3261 Old Washington Road, Suite 2020 Waldorf, MD 20602
Phone: 800-366-4615

Map

map for office

Footer

footer logo
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The information on this Maryland Attorneys & Lawyers / Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys| Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map