Estate planning is the process by which a person arranges control of his or her assets upon incapacity and distribution of assets upon  death.  It is also a process where an individual’s assets can be managed to provide for the most positive taxable situation both during life and at death.  Please use this page as a resource to you as you strive to provide estate planning services to your clients.

Durable Powers of Attorney
Health Care Powers of Attorney
Living Wills
Last Will and Testaments
Trusts
Exempt Organizations

Durable Powers of Attorney

The North Carolina General Statutes provide a statutory short form power of attorney as well as an exhaustive list of the powers that are specifically included in this statutory short form.  Please remember that any durable power of attorney that is used may be required to be filed with the Register of Deeds in order to be recognized as valid.  If you are asked to prepare a new power of attorney, be sure to revoke (if appropriate), through the process laid out in the statutes, any previous power of attorney.  For more information on durable powers of attorney, please consult Chapter 32A

For more information, visit HERE

Health Care Powers of Attorney

The statutes also provide a statutory short form health care power of attorney.  Section 4 of this short form provides an opportunity for an individual to customize the power of attorney or provide specific instructions to the health care agent.  If you are asked to prepare a new health care power of attorney be sure that the principal communicates this revocation to the previous health care agents in order for the revocation to be effective.  For more information on health care powers of attorney, please consult Chapter 32A

For more information, visit HERE

Living Wills

A Living Will may be executed as a separate document or it may be incorporated into a health care power of attorney.  For more information on Living Wills please consult Chapter 90, Article 23

If you would like to provide further information to your clients regarding Health Care Powers of Attorney and Living Wills  you may want to provide them with a copy of the applicable pamphlet from the This is the Law series

For more information, visit HERE

Last Will and Testaments

Consult Chapter 31 for the statutory requirements to make a valid Will.  The This is the Law Series Pamplet provides helpful information to clients regarding Will basics.

Trusts

Chapter 36A for the statutory requirements to make a valid trust and the duties to which a Trustee is bound.  There are many different types of trusts to provide for a variety of planning opportunities.  The CCH website outlines some of the most common types of the Trusts

For sample CRATs provided by the IRS see the following link: CRATS

The IRS is currently examining whether other sample charitable trusts should be outlined.  Those links will be posted if they become available.

Exempt Organizations

For clients with charitable purposes, creating an exempt organization or a private foundation may prove useful in planning.  See IRS Publication 557 for information regarding tax exempt status.  To apply for exempt status, complete IRS Form 1023 . IRS Publication 578 provides helpful information regarding private foundation status.  To complete the yearly required informational return for a private foundation, see IRS Form 990-PF