Legal Resolutions for 2021 [VIDEO]

Everyone has goals they set at the start of a new year. In this video, Jim discusses smart legal moves to make -if you haven’t already- to secure yourself legally.

Happy New Year!

With the new year, I will suggest some legal resolutions for 2021. We all think about resolutions. Sometimes we keep them and, sometime we don’t. I heard someone on the radio the other day who said they met a resolution in the beginning of 2020 to make sure they drank 12 glasses of water a day and their 2021 resolution is to drink at least one glass a day because they didn’t keep their 2020 resolution.

Here are some legal resolutions you may want to consider for this year

Make a Will. So many people don’t have wills. If you don’t have a will, there is a state statute in, at least New York, and I’m sure in other states, that says what happens to your assets, who they get distributed to among your family. But there are repercussions if you don’t have a will and you have a family. Some assets may go to your children when you want them to go to your spouse and then your children later on- things like that.
Have a Power of Attorney. Give someone the ability to sign things for you- legal and financial documents- in the events you are unable to. Accidents and illnesses are always things that happen unexpectedly and if you have someone that can sign for you, it will make your life easier in those times when life is most difficult.
Have an agent for health care decisions for the same reasons as the Power of Attorney. Things come up unexpectedly, and if you are sedated or you are in a coma for some reason because of an accident or illness, you need someone to able to make healthcare decisions for you, get medical records and get second opinions. It’s a simple document. You can create it yourself, or you can come speak to me, as I am an experienced Estate Planning Attorney. I have some things that I like to add in, but that’s top on the list also.
Get your house in order. What do I mean by that? If you plan on selling you house this year or this spring, housing prices are up. You should make sure that you have all of the permits that you need from a municipal perspective. Speak with a realtor about things you could do to pretty your house up to put it in the market. And if you have questions about legal documents, you should have in advance, give me a call. I am also an Experienced Real Estate Lawyer.
Review or create a shareholder or operating agreement for your business. So many businesses are formed and people don’t have shareholder and operating agreements. Then they have disagreements later on with their business partners and if they had an agreement, it would help sort those things out.
Make sure you are properly insured for your home and your car. It’s very important to have uninsured and under insured coverage that’s adequate. Most people don’t even know what that is. If you give me a call, I could go over it with you.
Make sure you have long-term care coverage. This is something that is apart of an Estate Planning discussion.
Speak with your investment advisor. Make sure that your assets are titled properly, and that you may need trusts to put your assets in in order to protect them.
Review your business insurance coverages to make sure that your business is properly protected from various types of claims and things that could come up.
Lastly, Call me. I am happy to discuss any of these issues with you and help you formulate a plan for your 2021 legal resolutions.

Please contact Leonick Law for your legal needs.

James F. Leonick
Leonick Law, P.L.L.C.
TEL: (631) 486-9500
Email: info@LeonickLaw.com