When I am sitting in my office with clients, working through their estate plan, I often come to a “fork in the road.” Unlike Yogi Bera’s, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it,” I press my clients for a clear answer.

“We’ve already chosen an executor. Why do we need an alternate?”

“We’ve appointed each other as attorney in fact. Why do we need an alternate? We can get to that later.” These typical answers require a response.

Drafting your estate plan requires thoughtful choices. Choosing an alternate fiduciary (a fiduciary is a person who is entrusted with property for the benefit of another) almost always makes sense. If you choose an executor for your Will, and that executor is medically unable to perform, who chooses the replacement? The best answer is you will, if you were wise enough to choose an alternate executor, just in case it was necessary.

Failure to plan for such contingencies often causes trouble that could have been avoided with proper planning and drafting at the outset.

Please contact Mateya Law Firm to help you with your estate planning, elder law issues, and estate administration needs.