I just received a call from a client whose parent is in the hospital and is not in very good health. My client was asking for Powers of Attorney for both health care and financial purposes. Powers of Attorney are so important. With a Power of Attorney, your family can take care of your financial business for you, and can make health care decisions for you, if you are unable. In the case of my client from this morning, the parent has “memory issues”. If you have a family member with memory issues, you may have difficulty obtaining Powers of Attorney for that person.
These documents need to be notarized. In order for a Notary Public to notarize these Powers of Attorney, the Notary Public must be sure that the person giving power of attorney is competent and aware of what they are signing. People don’t realize how important it is to have Powers of Attorney until a situation comes up where they need one immediately.
Powers of Attorney are important no matter what age you are. If you don’t have these documents for yourself, think about it. We, at Court Forms Plus, can assist you with typing these documents, as well as many others. Just give us a call.
Trust
It’s a new year! At the start of a new year people all over make New Year’s resolutions…lose weight, see friends/family more, be a better person. Some are forgotten a couple of months later, some are kept. Why not make it one of your New Year’s resolutions to think ahead. To protect your family. Making a trust is one resolution that could be easy to keep. Having a Trust is a great way to protect those you love in the future. When a loved one passes, it’s so difficult to get through the grieving process. Why not make it just a little easier for those you leave behind? With a Trust, they won’t be subjected to the long, drawn out, expensive Probate system in Court. So while you are making your resolutions, consider making a Trust your priority. Call Court Forms Plus today and make this the year you protect your loved ones by having a Trust. We can help!
“We are not attorneys. We can only provide you with self help services at your specific direction.”
Holiday
Debbie and Janet would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Stay safe and well. Hope your holiday is filled with family, love and relaxation.
Power of Attorney
It’s that time of year where people all over are getting flu, viruses, colds. Make sure you’re Health Care Power of Attorney is up to date. That document is so important. Everyone should have a Health Care Power of Attorney. If you are unable to make decisions for yourself, it allows someone you trust, someone you appoint, to make decisions for you. If you don’t have a Health Care Power of Attorney, call Debbie @ Court Forms Plus. She can assist you with one.
Divorce
Have you and your spouse come to the realization that it’s just not going to work out between you? Has the word “divorce” entered into your conversation more and more recently? The holiday season is not really a time when people want to think about divorce. But unfortunately holidays don’t stop people from realizing that they shouldn’t be married anymore. In fact, sometimes holidays actually make you realize that divorce is the only answer for you.
Are you finding it difficult to take that 1st step toward divorce? Once you have decided that it’s time to take that step, call Debbie at Court Forms Plus. She is a Legal Document Assistant (LDA) who can fill out divorce documents for you. Having an LDA assist you with divorce documents is an alternative to the high cost of having an attorney. We are caring people who want to assist you in filling out divorce documents. Let us help you through an emotional and stressful time in a caring and peaceful environment.
We are not attorneys. We can only offer self-help services at your specific direction.
Estate planning
With Halloween over and Thanksgiving fast approaching, many people will be spending time celebrating with their family, their loved ones. What a great time to think about planning your estate! Do you have a Trust? Or a Will? Have you even thought about your estate and how to plan for the future? Most people don’t want to think about estate planning because they don’t like to think about anything happening to them. But planning your estate is one of the most important things you can do, for your own peace of mind and one of the best things you can do for your loved ones.
Did you know that you don’t need an attorney to complete a Trust or Will? Estate planning is something that a Legal Document Assistant (LDA) can help you with. Contact Debbie at Court Forms Plus for more information on planning your estate.
“I am not an attorney. I can only offer self-help services at your specific direction.”
Divorce documents without Lawyers
It was announced this week that Kris Jenner filed for divorce from, Bruce Jenner, her husband of 23 years. She filed “In Pro Per” which means that she did not use a lawyer to complete her documents. The news report stated that they had “come to an agreement”. What I find interesting about this announcement is that almost every celebrity who has ever had divorce documents filled out and filed use a lawyer. Yet these two, who obviously have the funds available for a lawyer choose to represent themselves. Why do you suppose that is?
For one thing, when you represent yourself, and use a Legal Document Assistant, you have total control over all aspects of your divorce. You and your spouse are the ones that decide everything. Another good thing about representing yourself is that in most counties in California, if you agree and submit the divorce documents in a timely fashion, you won’t even need to go to Court. The two of you discuss, either by phone, in person, by text or email, however is comfortable to you, all aspects of your divorce. Once you’ve determined what your issues are and have agreed on them, your Legal Document Assistant will fill out the divorce documents and in most cases, submit them to Court for you, if you wish.
Another positive aspect about doing your own divorce is that, as long as you stay agreeable and submit the divorce documents to the Court in the proper time, things move much quicker. Yes, it still takes 6 months and 1 day from date of service to become final. But your time spent with your Legal Document Assistant filling out divorce documents is only about 2 to 3 months. And if you need advice most Legal Document Assistants have lawyers that they will refer you to.
It appears that Kris and Bruce Jenner thought about their options and chose the best course of action for them by filing their divorce documents “In Pro Per”. If you and your spouse are contemplating filing for divorce, feel that you can be agreeable and don’t need advice, weigh YOUR options. You may be better off following Kris and Bruce’s lead.
“I am not an attorney. I can only offer self-help at your specific direction.”
Estate
While the whole world mourns Robin Williams, we can all learn something from him. The reports this morning say that Williams thought ahead, that he had planned his estate by having at least one revocable living trust to handle the majority of his estate. So often when celebrities pass, there is a fight among their friends and family because they, like so many others, don’t plan ahead, have no estate planning in place. It’s so easy to say to yourself, “Nothing is going to happen. I have time.” Or to believe that your family will all get along when you pass, because they do now. But death does something to people. It changes them.
When you have a revocable trust, you have the ability to control how and when your loved ones will receive your estate assets. They also give you the flexibility to make changes when situations change. While revocable trusts may be more expensive right now, they save your family later. If you do nothing about your estate planning, you have no control over any aspect of what happens after your passing. It is left up to a Probate court. And here in California, that process can take anywhere from 6 months to years to complete.
Robin Williams was smart. He made sure his estate was taken care of when something happened to him. Having his estate all planned out will surely make life easier for his widow and children. So while you mourn this funny, giving man, learn something from him. See someone about estate planning.
We are not attorneys and cannot give advice.
Estate Planning, Trusts vs Probate
Last week a lady come to the office to talk to me about typing a couple of new deeds for her. In sitting and chatting with her, the subject of estate planning came up. Specifically, she wanted to know what she could do now, so that her family would be able to avoid probate when she passed. Her friend told her that she had a revocable living trust and this lady wondered if our company typed trusts. She started telling me the story of her own parents. It seems that they owned several pieces of real property. Her father “didn’t believe in trusts”, so her parents had not done anything about estate planning or drafting a trust.
When my customer’s father passed, she and her siblings, after much talking, finally convinced their mother to see someone about estate planning and more specifically, trusts. An appointment was set to start the process. However, before the appointment day came, my customer’s mother was in an accident and died. So, in spite of the fact that my customer and her siblings were able to convince their mother that she needed a trust, she died, and their mother’s estate had to go through Probate.
According to my customer, Probate was a nightmare! Because there was so much bickering between the siblings, there were numerous court dates, meetings with attorneys, and the process took nearly 14 years! As she concluded her story, I could see sadness in her eyes. It seems that along with the process taking 14 years, which only prolonged the healing process after one loses a loved one, she came away having lost all of her siblings because there were such hard feelings toward each other about the entire process. And the majority of the properties once owned by her parents had to be sold to keep paying all of the fees involved in going through the probate process.
If only her parents had talked to someone who could have explained estate planning to them, maybe their father would have “believed in trusts” and they could have prevented their children from going through such a terrible, hurtful time. Of course the parents probably had no idea that their children would bicker to the point of never speaking to one another again. But death changes people. Everyone should have something in place in the event that something happens to them. It’s something to think about….
We are not attorneys. We cannot give you advice. If you need advice, you will need to consult with an attorney
Court Forms Plus – # 1 Best of Tracy
Each year our local newspaper has a “Best of Tracy” contest. Readers are asked to vote for their “best” in different categories. This year, Court Forms Plus was voted “#1 Best of Tracy” in the Legal Preparation category! This is the category that is for people who fill out documents for customers, which includes other LDAs in town as well as Attorney offices.
Whether the documents are for divorce, Wills, Trusts, QDROs, Evictions, or any of the other many services we offer, Court Forms Plus always strives to be the “Best of Tracy” by doing everything we can to satisfy our customers. We try to meet the needs of each person who calls or comes into our office, however big or small their needs may be. We stay in touch with our customers, make ourselves available even on days that we are closed and always respond to phone calls or emails from our customers.
Court Forms Plus is proud to have been voted as the “#1 Best of Tracy” this year! We would like to thank those that voted for us and those that trust Debbie and Janet at Court Forms Plus enough to allow us to assist you in whatever you need. Your support and trust of Court Forms Plus means everything to us.