1. Coloradoetrust is part of Colorado Estate Planning & Settlement Law Firm, LLC, a Colorado estate planning law firm, not a forms company, and offers its services at a substantially reduced rate online. LegalZoom is a legal forms company out of California.
2. Coloradoetrust estate plans are drafted by a licensed Colorado attorney who specifically applies Colorado law. From what we can tell, it appears LegalZoom estate plans are prepared online and are reviewed by non-attorneys.
3. Coloradoetrust has an attorney, with over eight (8) years of experience in Colorado, who is available to speak or correspond with you if you have a question. LegalZoom does not.
4. Colorado estate planning should not be approached as if it were a menu with various individual choices.  It should be thought of as a complete meal.  Your estate plan should address not only your assets, but your wishes regarding all possibilities.  Accordingly, each one of our estate plans include the following documents:

    a.    Colorado Will;
    b.    Colorado Financial Power of Attorney;
    c.    Colorado Medical Power of Attorney;
    d.    Colorado Living Will;
    e.    Organ Donation Authorization; and
    f.     Burial Instructions.

Each document plays an important role in taking care of you should you need any assistance in the future, as well as conveying your intent upon your passing.  By having a complete and comprehensive Colorado estate plan, your wishes are clearly stated, and thus, reduces the likelihood of you or your family going to Court.

Coloradoetrust also advocates using the benefits of a Colorado Living Trust.  Please visit our link of Colorado Living Trust to learn more about the benefits of this powerful document.

5.   Upon receipt of your estate plan, you are able to speak with the drafting attorney to address any question or concern you may have.

Coloradoetrust prides itself on having a state of the art estate plan, not just a “form,” and on delivering a compelling experience to you for the important task of giving you a secure feeling that your wishes and loved ones will be cared for if you are not around to do so.

An illustration of a poorly executed estate plan can be demonstrated by the recent story of Mary Robbins, a Colorado Springs resident.  Apparently in 2006, she entered into a contract with Alcor Live Extension Foundation.  Alcor is a cryogenics company that received much publicity with Ted Williams, the famous baseball player.  Like Ted Williams, Mrs. Robbins supposedly wanted to be preserved with the hope that modern medicine would enable her to live again in the future.  She even purchased a $50,000 annuity to pay for Alcor’s services for years to come.  Just prior to her passing, it appears she changed the beneficiary designation on the annuity to no longer include Alcor.  The problem with Mrs. Robbins estate plan was that  while she allegedly changed the beneficiary designation, she apparently did not change the terms of her Colorado Will, which authorized Alcor to preserve her body.  Litigation ensued and a settlement was reached between her family and Alcor.

The important lesson from this story is to make sure all parts of your estate plan are working properly together and represent your intent, so as to avoid any unnecessary litigation from any source. 

When all parties are on the same page, parents discussing their estate plan with their children can have some very positive results.  However, it can easily go the other way when one heir receives more than his or her siblings as discussed in the article.  Siblings can also get upset over who is designated as their parents’ Personal Representative, Trustee or as an Agent under their Financial and Medical Power of Attorney.  All in all, it is this author’s belief that while opening up a discussion over an estate plan during one’s lifetime can create some frustration and even hostility, it can be better for parents to explain their decisions while they are alive in contrast to having heirs learn about it after their parents’ passing. 

One topic the author did not mention is the importance of speaking with the individual or company who one designates in a fiduciary capacity like a Trustee, Guardian, Financial Power of Attorney agent and Medical Power of Attorney agent.  When preparing one’s Colorado estate plan, I have always suggested people discuss with their designated agents or trustees of their potential role if they are needed.  More importantly, one should confirm with their designated Guardian who will be taking care of their minor children whether they are up for the task.

To summarize, communication is important in estate planning.  Each family’s circumstances are different, and thus, creates the possibility that everything may not need to be discussed.  However, making designated fiduciaries aware of their potential role should be discussed.

One of the reasons Coloradoetrust only offers a comprehensive Colorado estate planning package, that includes a Will, General (Financial) Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney, Living Will and, depending on the package chosen, a Revocable Living Trust, is to avoid the necessity of relying on the courts to appoint somebody who it believes will take care of one’s important financial and medical needs when they are unable to do so for themselves.  Instead, through any of our Colorado estate planning packages, we enable people to designate through their Colorado Living Trust, Colorado Power of Attorney and Colorado Medical Power of Attorney who they believe will take care of them in their time of need, before such need ever arises. 

With Coloradoetrust, every one of our estate plans includes the following documents:

1. Colorado Will:
2. Colorado General or Financial Power of Attorney;
3. Colorado Medical Power of Attorney;
4. Colorado Living Will;
5. Burial Instructions; and
6. Organ Donation Authorization.

We also offer two Colorado Revocable Living Trust packages that include each of these documents, plus a Revocable Living Trust.

1. Without a Colorado Living Trust or Colorado Will, Colorado law controls who receives your assets and when;
2. Without a Living Trust or Financial Power of Attorney (General Power of Attorney), Colorado law will determine who handles your financial affairs when you are unable to do so;
3. Without a Medical Power of Attorney or Living Will, a court may have to appoint a Guardian to make your medical or end of life decisions for you;
4. Without a Will, Colorado law will determine who takes care of your minor or dependent children;
5. Without trust provisions as part of your estate plan, your assets will be included in your heirs estates and potentially subject to an estate tax;

One bonus…without a properly drafted Colorado Trust as part of your estate plan, the assets your heirs receive will likely be subject to their creditor claims.