Whitney Hughes, Director of the Allegheny County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service, frequently appears on the “Legal Briefs” segment of Pittsburgh Today Live on KDKA-TV. Following is a transcript from a KDKA appearance.
Starting the New Year off on the Right Foot (Legally)
This is the time of year when we begin cleaning out our closets and getting organized for the year to come.
There’s also no better time to make sure all of your necessary legal documents are in order and make any changes necessary as well.
Below are some items to review and some helpful tips as well:
Make sure your will, living will and power of attorney are up to date and accurate.
In Pennsylvania, everything does not automatically pass to your spouse if you die without a will. Make sure you have made every effort to ensure that your property is divided up according to your exact wishes after your death. Even those with few assets should make out a will – you never know how much value something may have or how much family fighting can be avoided by simply planning ahead.
Make sure your Power of Attorney and Living Will are up to date as well. Although we don’t like to think of it, there may come a time when we are unable to make our own decisions and it may become necessary to have someone make those decisions for you. Ensure that you have drafted a Living Will and then give a copy of it to the person whom you appoint your Power of Attorney. Again, a little planning goes a long way. These are available FREE from the ACBA- simply call or visit our wensite.
Well before you start your home improvement plans for the spring, make sure you know your exact property lines and have a current survey of your property. Many disputes can be avoided if you ensure your plans are not infringing on someone else’s property ownership rights. Make sure you obtain all necessary building permits from your municipality as well. If not, you may face fines, or having to re-do the work to ensure it’s up to code.
Take an objective look at your financial picture. Have you over-extended yourself over the holidays? Need to get items paid off before they snowball? Talk to a financial planner if necessary. Contact credit card companies to find out if they can offer you a lower interest rate as long as you have a good payment history. If you have good credit and have some equity in your home and are planning on staying there for some time, it may be a good time to refinance. In the alternative, if the picture looks very bleak, you may want to talk to a bankruptcy attorney to find out if bankruptcy is a viable alternative for you. At the very least, if you are having difficulty with creditors, an attorney may be able to help you deal with some of their attempts to collect the debt and ensure you are not being harassed.
Make sure that all of your custody arrangements are in order for the upcoming year. Now that the holidays are over you will know for sure how likely family members are to cooperate with custody and visitation orders. If it’s necessary to change any of these orders, now is the time to do it. If it will be necessary to modify custody arrangements so that your child may attend a different school next year, you may want to begin investigating the steps you’ll need to take to legally make the change. Ideally, both parties will cooperate, but if there’s going to be a battle involved the sooner you find out, the better.
April 15 will be here before you know it. Don’t wait until the last minute to get all of your tax information together and, if you can, file early. Employers are required to provide you with your W-2 by Jan. 31, making filing early possible if you are organized enough and do your part. If you have a very complicated tax situation or know you’ll need help, ask a professional. The earlier you do it the better off you are – we all know how crazy the first weeks of April can be, so avoid the rush and get an early start.
The Allegheny County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service can help you find an attorney equipped to handle this specific type of case. To speak with an attorney or for more information, call 412-261-5555 or click here.