If your attorney is helping you plan your estate, your Client Portal has a place to note who you have in mind for each key role, in order of preference. Nothing you enter here is final. It is simply a way to get your initial thoughts down so your attorney can review them with you and help you decide what works best.
đ Where to Find Your Decision Makers
Where this section sits depends on when your portal was set up:
Most portals have a Decision-Makers step on the portal home page. Open it to see Your decision makers.
On some older portals, Your decision makers sits inside the People step, below the People table.
If you and your spouse are both clients, you will see a name tab for each of you. Select your own name, or your spouse's if you are updating their list.
â Which Roles Apply
At the top of Your decision makers, the Which roles apply box asks four Yes/No questions:
Do you have any children under 18?
Do you have a trust, or want anything held in trust (for example, for children)?
Does anyone who depends on you have a disability or special needs?
Might anyone who depends on you need help making personal decisions as an adult?
Your answers decide which roles are listed below. Answering No hides a role but keeps any names you have already listed. A question marked Suggested has been pre-answered from the details your attorney already has. You can change any answer if it isn't right. If you're unsure, make your best guess and your attorney will confirm it with you.
đ What Roles Are Listed
These three roles are always listed:
Personal Representative - Executor: settles the estate after death. They gather assets, pay debts and distribute what is left under the will.
Financial Power of Attorney (Agent): handles money, property and financial affairs if you cannot.
A health care decision maker: makes medical decisions if you cannot decide or speak for yourself.
Depending on your answers, you may also see Trustee, Guardian for Minor Children, a trustee role for someone with a disability, and a guardian role for an adult who needs help with personal decisions. A short description of each role appears under its heading.
The names of some roles depend on your state. For example, the health care role may be called Health Care Agent or Health Care Representative. Your attorney will talk you through what each role means for you.
âď¸ How to Add a Name
Under the role you want, click Add a name and type the person's full name.
The name saves automatically and a Decision makers saved message appears. There is no submit button.
Click Add a name again to add your next choice. The Order number shows your preference. If your first choice can't serve, the next person on the list takes over.
đ How to Change the Order or Remove a Name
To change the order, drag a name using the handle on the left of the row and drop it where you want it. The numbers update automatically.
To remove a name, click the Ă at the end of the row.
To correct a spelling, click into the name and edit it.
đ¤ How to Add Appointee Details
In the Decision-Makers step, the Appointee details section is where you give your attorney the details of each person you have chosen.
Scroll to Appointee details, below the role lists.
Click Choose family or a loved one to pick someone you already added in the Family and Loved Ones step, or Add someone new for anyone else, such as a friend or a trust company.
Fill in their details and choose their role, then save.
The person appears in the Appointee details table with their role and a status. Your attorney reviews each appointee before it is added to your file. See What Happens After You Submit Information for what each status means.
đĄ Good to Know
Your attorney sees your lists and answers as soon as you save them and can change them too. It is a shared space for you both to work from.
The names in your lists are not sent for review and do not show a status. Appointee details are sent for review.
If you and your spouse are both clients on the matter, you can each see and edit each other's lists. One of you can fill in both, or you can each sign in and complete your own.
You can come back and change your lists at any time.
đŹ Need Help?
Use the chat bubble in the lower-right corner of EstateMin or email [email protected] for support.