probate and estate law
Attorney Exton will protect your assets and help you transfer your finances at your retirement, disability, or death.
estate planning
Even if you don’t have a lot of property or assets now, you’ll want to make sure that your family receives as much of your wealth as possible.
Estate planning ensures that your property will be divided according to your desires and that your loved ones pay as few legal fees, taxes, and court costs as possible. |
wills & living wills
Life is full of complicated and tough decisions, but you don’t have to make all of your future arrangements alone.
Attorney Exton and our experienced estate planning staff can help you determine what will happen to your family and your property in the future. The decisions you make now can have a significant impact on your family’s future. We understand the difficult choices you need to make, and you can count on our team to help you with all your financial planning needs. |
full probate
Estate planning is the systematic approach to organizing your personal and financial affairs in order to deal with the possibility of mental incapacity and certain death.
Depending on your current family and financial situations, your foundational estate plan will include four or five essential legal estate planning documents. |
power of attorney
A Financial Power of Attorney allows you to delegate a person of your choice the ability to manage assets that are titled in your individual name.
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trusts
A Trust is a legal document that states who you want to manage and distribute your property if you're unable to do so. It also states who receives your property when you pass away.
Once signed, you transfer ownership of your assets into the trust and you remain in complete control of your property. Your trust property will be managed and distributed in the way that you chose at the time that you chose. |
guardianships
Guardianship is a legal process utilized when a person cannot make or communicate safe or sound decisions about themselves, their property, and/or has become susceptible to fraud or undue influence.
Establishing a guardianship may remove considerable rights from an individual, and should only be considered after alternatives to guardianship have been ineffective or are unavailable. |
Power of Attorney:
General Power of Attorney
A general power of attorney gives broad powers to a person or organization (known as an agent or attorney-in-fact) to act in your behalf. These powers include handling financial and business transactions, buying life insurance, settling claims, operating business interests, making gifts, and employing professional help. General power of attorney is an effective tool if you will be out of the country and need someone to handle certain matters, or when you are physically or mentally incapable of managing your affairs. A general power of attorney is often included in an estate plan to make sure someone can handle financial matters.
Special Power of Attorney
You can specify exactly what powers an agent may exercise by signing a special power of attorney. This is often used when one cannot handle certain affairs due to other commitments or health reasons. Selling property (personal and real), managing real estate, collecting debts, and handling business transactions are some of the common matters specified in a special power of attorney document.
Health Care Power of Attorney
A health care power of attorney grants your agent authority to make medical decisions for you if you are unconscious, mentally incompetent, or otherwise unable to make decisions on your own. While not the same thing as a living will, many states allow you to include your preference about being kept on life support. Some states will allow you to combine parts of the health care POA and living will into an advanced health care directive.
Durable Power of Attorney
Suppose you become mentally incompetent due to illness or accident while you have a power of attorney in effect. Will the document remain valid? To safeguard against any problems, you can sign a durable power of attorney. This is simply a general, special, or health care POA that has a durability provision to keep the current power of attorney in effect.
*You might also sign a durable power of attorney to prepare for the possibility that you may become mentally incompetent due to illness or injury. Specify in the power of attorney that it cannot go into effect until a doctor certifies you as mentally incompetent. You may name a specific doctor who you wish to determine your competency, or require that two licensed physicians agree on your mental state.
General Power of Attorney
A general power of attorney gives broad powers to a person or organization (known as an agent or attorney-in-fact) to act in your behalf. These powers include handling financial and business transactions, buying life insurance, settling claims, operating business interests, making gifts, and employing professional help. General power of attorney is an effective tool if you will be out of the country and need someone to handle certain matters, or when you are physically or mentally incapable of managing your affairs. A general power of attorney is often included in an estate plan to make sure someone can handle financial matters.
Special Power of Attorney
You can specify exactly what powers an agent may exercise by signing a special power of attorney. This is often used when one cannot handle certain affairs due to other commitments or health reasons. Selling property (personal and real), managing real estate, collecting debts, and handling business transactions are some of the common matters specified in a special power of attorney document.
Health Care Power of Attorney
A health care power of attorney grants your agent authority to make medical decisions for you if you are unconscious, mentally incompetent, or otherwise unable to make decisions on your own. While not the same thing as a living will, many states allow you to include your preference about being kept on life support. Some states will allow you to combine parts of the health care POA and living will into an advanced health care directive.
Durable Power of Attorney
Suppose you become mentally incompetent due to illness or accident while you have a power of attorney in effect. Will the document remain valid? To safeguard against any problems, you can sign a durable power of attorney. This is simply a general, special, or health care POA that has a durability provision to keep the current power of attorney in effect.
*You might also sign a durable power of attorney to prepare for the possibility that you may become mentally incompetent due to illness or injury. Specify in the power of attorney that it cannot go into effect until a doctor certifies you as mentally incompetent. You may name a specific doctor who you wish to determine your competency, or require that two licensed physicians agree on your mental state.
Through years of mentoring, continuing legal education and expansive experience in the probate field, Attorney Matthew Exton understands how to advise you and how to settle any and all financial affairs for you and your family.