Weary & Co Law Office: Tommy and Gina: Keeping Up With Life

Tommy and Gina realize their Wills, Personal Directives and Enduring Powers of Attorney are out of date. Many life events have taken place since they last looked at them. Their two sons are now 22 and 20 years old, and both are in university. Because they’re no longer minors, it’s not necessary to have Tommy’s parents named as their guardians. Furthermore, Tommy’s father has serious health issues and his mother is acting as his father’s primary caregiver. With his parents’ failing health and advancing age, it was also time to remove them as the alternate Executors, Agents and Attorneys from their documents.

This leaves Tommy and Gina with a dilemma. Their boys are now old enough to take on these roles. Most parents want to name all of their children as joint Executors, Attorneys and Agents so none of their children feel slighted. Yet this decision may lead to inabilities to reach a consensus on health and financial decisions, or significantly delay the settling of an estate. Tommy and Gina did consider making their sons joint in all documents, but then they really considered their sons’ characters. Their eldest son is poor with finances; he even sold a gift from his father—Tommy’s prized six-string guitar—to pay some bills. However, he has a caring nature, and he knows how his parents want to be taken care of health-wise, which makes him the best choice for being their Personal Directive Agent. On the other hand, their younger son is great with money and is very organized, making him their best choice to be the primary Executor and Attorney of their Wills and EPAs.

It wasn’t easy when Tommy and Gina told their sons about the updates. At first their sons didn’t want to be a part of any conversation about the possible death of their parents, plus they felt slighted at not being able to be joint decision-makers for their parents’ health, finances, and estate matters. However, when their parents explained why these decisions were made, the children eventually realized their parents
were right. Tommy and Gina feel confident that they made the right decisions, having done what they can to ensure there’ll be minimal stress for their sons if something were to happen to them.

Things to Keep in Mind

• Your estate planning documents should be reviewed at least every five years and when a life-changing event occurs to ensure that any necessary changes are made.
• Never write changes on your original estate planning documents as it can void them. Go to an expert estate planning lawyer to ensure that the changes are made properly.

Weary & Co Law Office

400, 30 Green Grove

St.Albert, AB

780 459 5596

http://wearyco.com

This sponsored content was produced in partnership between The Weary and Co Law Office and T8N Magazine