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Our Firm handles of variety of estate planning issues, including the following:
 Wills
Powers of Attorney
Advance Medical Directives (i.e., Living Wills)
Trusts
What is a Will?
A Last Will and Testament, or Will, is a comprehensive document that provides for the disposition and care of one's assets, including one's most precious ones -- his/her children. It gives a person a voice in detemining what happens to his/her property and children when he/she dies. Without a Will, one's property will be divided according to the Virginia laws of Intestate Succession provided for by statute. Without a Will, the Courts may have to determine who will be the guardians of your minor children. and the administrator of your estate.
Did you know, for example, that if you have children from a prior marriage and you die without a Will, those children will be entitled to a percentage of your estate? Maybe you don't mind, but if you, the remedy is to have a Will.
What other documents should I consider along with a Will?
Other important douments that usually accompany a Will are a Living Will (now known in Virginia as an Advance Medical Directive, a Durable General Power of Attorney, and/or a Limited Power of Attorney.
An Advance Medical Directive gives a trusted individual the authority to make life or death decisions for one who is incapacitated and therefore incapable of making such decisions.
A Durable Power of Attorney permits someone to make critical decisions for one can not make those decisions. In other words, the Durable Power of Attorney allows someone to make financial and other household decisions, and to essentially carry-on one's estate in the event a person is medically or geographically unable to do so.
A Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare permits someone to get medical information about you, to fill prescriptions, etc. With priovacy laws in place(e.g., HIPAA), very few medical professionals will discuss these issues with someone other than the patient. A DPOA for Healthcare will ensure that you can be fully apprised of your loved one's or friend's status and treatment options.
A Limited Power of Attorney would allow you to grant someone authority to make final arrangements for the deceased at his/her death.
A Trust can be a Testamentary Trust (one created by your Will) or a type of Inter Vivos Trust (one created while living). There are a number of practical and economic reasons for creating Inter Vivos Trusts, including sheltering (to some extent) certain assets from estate tax and probate tax liability. | 
