First Quarter 2011 Family Legal Audit

Are your legal documents in order?

Just as we go to the doctor for medical checkups, you should periodically see your lawyer for a legal checkup.  It is important that all North Carolina adults have certain legal documents for their protection and the protection of their family.  This article is intended to help you conduct a simple legal audit to help you determine where you stand.  If you own a business or about to get married or divorced, there are other legal considerations that are beyond the scope of this article.

Directions: Answer each question by choosing the answer which best describes your situation and then score your results.  Take a printout of this article, your answers and your score with you when you meet with your attorney.

 Test Yourself

1) The status of your Last Will & Testament.

a) I do not have a Will
b) I have a will but it is not up to date (e.g., something has changed since last executed such as marriage, divorce, birth of child, someone named has died, you did not live in NC when last executed, you are no longer happy with the Will)
c) My will was executed in North Carolina and it is up to date.
d) My will was prepared by a licensed North Carolina attorney, was executed in North Carolina and is up to date.

2) Your Power of Attorney (POA).

a) I do not have a Durable Power of Attorney.
b) I have a Power of Attorney but it has not been recorded at the Register of Deeds and/or it is not durable (designed to be valid even if I become incompetent).
c) The Durable Power of Attorney is out of date in that the named attorney in fact needs to be changed or there is no alternate attorney in fact named.
d) The Durable Power of Attorney is recorded at the Register of Deeds and up to date.

3) Your Health Care Power of Attorney

a) I do not have a Health Care Power of Attorney.
b) I have a Heath Care Power of Attorney but the named health care agent needs to be changed or it does not reflect my current wishes regarding my health care.
c) My Health Care Power of Attorney is up to date but I have not provided my agent and my health care physician with a copy nor have I registered it with the NC Secretary of State (see www.secretary.state.nc.us/ahcdr/).
d) My Health Care Power of Attorney is up to date and properly distributed.

4) My Living Will is…

a) I don’t have one but I would like to have one so that my wishes regarding extraordinary life saving measures are known and respected.
b) I have one but it is out of date.
c) I have one but it has not been provided to my physicians or registered with the Secretary of State
d) I have one that is fully up to date and properly distributed/registered.

 Scoring

Each a=0 points, b=10 points, c=20 points, d=25 points.  Add up your score and evaluate as follows:

81-100 — Sounds Great; Check with your attorney to be sure.
41-80 — You have got some work to do; Schedule an Appointment with your Attorney.
0-40 — Run, Don’t Walk to Your Attorney to Get these documents now!

Virtual Law Office

We provide a service to prepare these documents at a discounted rate for all North Carolineans.  See our Virtual Law Office for more information.