Estate Planning The process of reviewing a person's assets, debts, needs, and wishes in relation to applicable laws, including tax and insurance regulations, and applying those laws and regulations to carry out a person's wishes in the event of incapacity or death.
Back to Top Elder Law The providing of different types of legal services to meet the legal and financial challenges of persons facing age or aging-related issues. An elder law attorney maintains a client-centered practice with an emphasis in evaluating how a person's changing needs affect various aspects of that person's life. Legal services commonly provided by an elder law attorney include general estate planning, including powers of attorney and health care directives, guardianships and conservatorships, Medicare, Social Security, and Veterans benefits, as well as real estate, elder abuse and nursing home issues.
Back to Top Probate The legal process of gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing property to heirs.
Back to Top Durable Power of Attorney (POA): A legal document by which one person appoints another to act on his or her behalf. This document is "durable" if it is designed to remain in effect even if the maker becomes incapacitated. A POA document may be written for a specific purpose (e.g., to allow an attorney-in-fact to sign house closing documents on the maker's behalf because the maker is out of town on the closing date), or for more general purposes (e.g., to allow an attorney-in-fact access to and authority over all of the maker's legal, financial, and business affairs because the make is unable to make those types of decisions). In nearly all instances, a signed POA document is necessary even if a person wants his or her spouse to act as an attorney-in-fact.
Back to Top Health Care Directive: Similar to a Durable Power of Attorney document, this legal document designates another to serve as the maker's attorney-in-fact to make health care decisions only if the maker is incapacitated and unable to competently make those types of decisions. It also permits a person to give instructions to his or her agent, including whether, and under what conditions, health care should be provided, withheld, or withdrawn.
Back to Top Last Will and Testament (Will): A legal document which is a statement of a person's wishes concerning the disposition of his or her property after death. In a will, a person may also:
name a personal representative (or executor), who is the person responsible for collecting the decedent's assets, paying his or her obligations, and distributing any remaining estate assets in accordance with the will.
name a guardian to care for any surviving minor children, if no natural parent is able to do so.
name a trustee for the surviving spouse's or minor children's trust or trusts. A trust for the benefit of a surviving spouse is most often created for tax saving purposes. A trust for minor children is created primarily for the purpose of protecting the assets to ensure the children's basic needs are met until they reach majority. It is not necessary to name the same person to serve as both guardian and trustee.
Back to Top Living Will: A legal document that, effective August 1, 2005 in North Dakota, has been replaced with a Health Care Directive. [link to Health Care Directive] A Living Will is a legal document designed to be effective only upon the maker's incapacity. Its purpose is to address end of life decisions such as life prolonging treatment, nutrition, and hydration. Any Living Will signed before August 1, 2005, is still valid and effective, despite North Dakota's change to the more comprehensive Health Care Directive.
Back to Top Guardianship: A legal process by which a person or persons are given the legal authority to make personal decisions for another person. A guardian may be appointed for minor children whose parents are deceased. In addition, a guardian may be appointed to manage the personal affairs of a disabled or incompetent adult.
Back to Top Conservatorship: A legal process by which a person or corporate trust officer is given the legal authority to make financial and legal decisions for another person. A conservator may be appointed to manage money and legal affairs for minor children. In addition, a conservator may be appointed to manage the financial and legal affairs of a disabled or incompetent adult.
Back to Top Personal Representative: A person who has been appointed by a court to manage the affairs of another after death. A Personal Representative represents the deceased person's estate in the probate process. Usually this is done by working with an attorney to collect the assets of a person after his or her death, determine what debts are valid, and use the assets to pay the valid debts. Commonly, the last act of a Personal Representative is to distribute the remaining assets according to the deceased person's Will.
Back to Top Agent: A person with the legal authority to act for another person. An agent may have broad powers, or may have very specific, limited powers. An agent's power to act is established by the terms and conditions of a Power of Attorney or Health Care Directive. Whatever authority the agent does have to act, it ends immediately upon the death of the person who gave the authority to act.
Back to Top Trustee: An individual, or a corporate trust company, who holds assets has the authority to manage assets that are held in trust for the benefit of one or more persons according to the terms of the trust document.
Back to Top Holographic Will: A Last Will and Testament that is entirely in the handwriting of the person making the Will. Each state has different legal requirements for Holographic Wills, such as who and how must witness a Holographic Will for it to be valid and enforceable.
Back to Top Intestacy Law: A number of state specific laws that govern how assets are to be distributed if a person dies without a Will. That person is said to have died intestate. Generally, under intestacy laws, your blood relatives receive your estate. Intestacy laws do not allow charities or non-blood relatives to receive anything from a person's probate estate. For this reason, intestacy laws do not meet the needs of individuals who want to give some or all of their estate to charities or persons other than blood relatives. Intestacy laws also do not address the estate tax issues that come with larger estates.
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Fargo, ND 58103
Phone: (701) 364-0154
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Please understand that the contents of this web site are provided to be thought-provoking only, and this information is not intended to be legal advice for your unique circumstances. Always consult your personal attorney before making decisions which have legal consequences.
