3 Free Things or Low-cost You can Do Right Now to Plan Your Estate
- Using the free formats available online for power of attorney and a healthcare directive as well as mental health advance directive.
Washingtonlawhelp.org has a program, which can help you create durable power of attorney documents through a questionnaire: https://walawhelp.gavel.io/run/playground2/Durable%20Power%20of%20Attorney/#/1.
A couple of notes, make sure to get it notarized after completing it, and second, certain powers must be explicitly given to a power of attorney to be included in a financial power of attorney, so check RCW 11.125.240 to make sure they are included if you need them.
RCW 70.122.030 has a free healthcare directive format. (Click on the hyperlinked RCW to see the format)
Finally there are a couple of websites in Washington state available to help you if you need a mental health advance directive:
Washington State Health Care Authority: https://www.hca.wa.gov/free-or-low-cost-health-care/i-need-behavioral-health-support/mental-health-advance-directives
Washington Law Help https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/mental-health-advance-directives
Note the mental health advance directive is for those who anticipate a mental health condition in which a person might be incapacitated and therefore unable to designate what types of treatment they want at the time they need the treatment. Therefore, they can designate such treatment in advance.
- Change Designations on Accounts
You can usually add payable on death (POD) designee to your bank accounts and some other accounts. If this is a person that you don’t want to be part owner but to receive the account after you die, make sure you do not add them as a co-owner on the account. Usually financial institutions will have a separate form or forms you can use to make these POD designations.
- Execute a Transfer on Death Deed TOD – for Real estate property
This applies to those in Washington State. Washington state allows for you to execute a transfer on death deed before you die for real estate property you own. This means that you still own the property while you are alive and control the property fully, you can revoke the TOD if you want, but if the TOD is in place, when you die it will go to the person listed in the deed.
For instructions and forms to complete a TOD see the King County Law Library Packet.
Author:
Jordan Kostelyk, JD
Snohomish County low bono practitioner practicing in estate planning and probate
see everlastinglegalsolutions.com for more information about her.