Alex Hunt: 0:08

our first guest is um attorney with hunt law firm, brie holcomb, and she is one of our family law attorneys um, but she also has a focus in estate planning as well. So welcome, brie thank you.

Bri Holcombe: 0:21

Thank you for having me okay, so let's start first.

Alex Hunt: 0:24

Just tell us very briefly what is an estate plan? What is estate planning?

Bri Holcombe: 0:30

So estate planning is not only planning for death, but also planning for incapacity, and when you're young, you know dying is not something that is near in the future. You feel invincible. So what we want to do is we want to have a plan in place for if that happens, but also in the event that you become incapacitated.

Alex Hunt: 0:49

Okay. So 18 year olds, we often will get questions either from their parents or from them what do I need to have? I'm about to go off to college, I'm about to go off to the military, I'm about to start my life, and a lot of them think, like you said, they're invincible and that they don't need anything. In fact, there are quite a few documents that would be really, really helpful. Among those are a HIPAA release, a durable statutory power of attorney and a medical power of attorney attorney. At the very least, I would say those three documents are the must-haves for people that are in that 18 to 24 age range. Beyond that, there are some nice-to-haves. A lot of 18 to 24-year-olds don't have a large estate and so there maybe isn't that urgent need for a complex will. Things like a living will, where you're having to make decisions about end-of-life decisions, things about a declaration of guardian in case the need exists. Those are nice to haves, but they're certainly not must-haves. Take us through some of those must-haves, starting with the HIPAA release.

Bri Holcombe: 2:02

Yeah, so the HIPAA release is a document that says these individuals can have access to my medical records. We always want our medical power of attorney to have access to our medical records. Reason being is because they're making a decision for us. They're making a medical decision when we are not able to. You want your medical power of attorney to be informed and have information related to your care and related to the medical conditions that you may have. Just because you are 18 doesn't mean that your parent has access to your medical records. You've become an adult and the parent can't necessarily just go and request those medical records because they're protected and they're yours. Just go and request those medical records because they're protected and they're yours. So having a HIPAA release allows your medical power of attorney to not only make an informed decision, but also make one that's going to be in your best interest, with the full picture and the full information.

Alex Hunt: 2:55

And you were telling me you know off camera, as we're preparing for this that there was a situation that arose in your own life with a friend of yours where HIPAA reliefs would have come in handy for this person. Tell me a little bit about that.

Bri Holcombe: 3:08

So when I was in college playing intramural softball, my roommate got hit in the head with a softball. You know, you're in college. You're nowhere near your parents who can make those decisions for you. We had to get on the phone, call her parents, have them come down here and or have them come come down to Waco to make decisions and make calls. But they had to jump through some hoops appro from a broken family or have strained relationships and you don't want your parent making care decisions, or you don't want your mom, you'd rather have your dad. You want to make sure that your wishes are laid out and that there is a clear plan in place that is meant for you.

Alex Hunt: 4:02

I can't think of a worse scenario than you know I've got. My oldest is 11, but I can't imagine your oldest goes to college, there's an accident, you find out something happens, you're at the hospital and certainly you're next of kin, but you are having to go through bureaucratic paperwork trying to just get information on your child. A HIPAA release would alleviate that. You'd be able to talk to doctors, you'd be able to get the information, you'd be able to get medical records immediately. All right, so you've got your HIPAA release in place. And tell me a little. I mean, is that complex? What does that look like?

Bri Holcombe: 4:39

Very, very generalized document that just says these people can have access to my medical records when I can't consent to give it. This authorization doesn't allow me to. You know if I had one for you, just go to your doctor and get all of your records. They're going to ask well, why are you needing them? This is in place for when you cannot consent, so that's why it's so important.

Alex Hunt: 5:01

Okay, you've got your HIPAA release in place. Two documents powers of attorney. One is durable statutory power of attorney. That's definitely some legalese that needs some decoding, and then a medical power of attorney. Tell me about durable statutory power of attorney and what does that do?

Bri Holcombe: 5:18

So a durable statutory power of attorney, often referred to just as a general power of attorney or a financial power of attorney, is a document that says these people can come alongside me and help manage my finances when I can't. For our younger generation, you know you may have bank accounts or credit cards that your parents no longer have access to, and if something were to happen to you and bills needed to be paid or obligations needed to be fulfilled, you want to make sure someone has the ability to step into your shoes and do that for you. So the financial power of attorney is very important, especially for our younger generation, because you want someone there in the worst case scenario, in the event that something happens and you can't manage your finances anymore.

Alex Hunt: 6:03

Okay, and all of these forms? When should a parent for a child that say they're a senior in high school, say they're going off the military? When should a parent start thinking about these things for their child?

Bri Holcombe: 6:16

I would say the summer, between graduating and going off to school. You want to make sure that before your kiddo goes off, you've got these documents in place and that things are ready to go in that worst case scenario. You know, oftentimes people don't want to think about the worst case, but planning ahead and planning for that worst case is going to make it so much easier and alleviate the pressure that you may be facing in those moments.

Alex Hunt: 6:38

Yeah, and I think a lot of people they hear these terms, they see these forms they think I'm engaging a law firm. This is going to be expensive. It's going to be time intensive. One thing that I'll say about our firm and your service that you provide to the clients is it is as easy as could be. It is not expensive. The initial consultation is free. We give you a quote on how much these forms are going to be. You don't have to do the full package. You can just do the forms that you need, and we even have a bundle.

Alex Hunt: 7:14

We have a bundle depending on wherever you are in life, and it is pretty quick too. Yeah, I mean some of our cases where we have had parents that have come during the summer in between their child, you know, senior year of high school, freshman year of college we'll be able to get these things done in like maybe two weeks.

Bri Holcombe: 7:34

Oh, I would say less than that. Yeah, it's in and out, because in most cases, the parent is going to be the one who's authorized to make the decisions. We need your name, address, phone number. We can get these documents moving. I like to think of our practice, and the service that we provide is you shouldn't be waiting on us. You shouldn't wait for me to be dragging my feet. You made the step, and this is so important, for you to get in the door. I'm going to do all I can to push you through.

Alex Hunt: 7:58

Yeah, and it's so easy for folks to go look on, like LegalZoom or you know there's other websites like that. Um, and I just can't stress enough, you're, you're not, that's not being reviewed by an attorney, it doesn't have, like, the blessing of an attorney. Um, these forms are getting drafted and have the blessing of our office and you know that it's going to be right. Okay, the last one medical power of attorney. What is that? Why do you need it?

Bri Holcombe: 8:29

Yeah. So a medical power of attorney says when I can't make decisions for myself, these people are going to step in and make healthcare decisions. It's not financial decisions. That's what our power of attorney is for. So this specifically relates to any sort of healthcare decision. There are things that your medical power of attorney cannot consent to. So some people worry oh what if this power gives them broad authority? They can't confine you into a mental institution, they can't consent to an abortion, and there are a couple of other things that your medical power of attorney is prohibited from acting upon. Having this document in place allows you to make medical decisions for someone when they're not able to.

Alex Hunt: 9:09

And I think that's what a lot of folks that their kids are starting adulthood. They don't have a family of their own. That's what they're looking for is just if the worst happens, I'm going to make sure that my loved one, my child, is protected and that I'm going to still be able to be involved for them. You mentioned a little bit about you know if there is a child or a new, a young adult that has a family, you know they're a child of divorce. Tell me a little bit about how that plays into this process.

Bri Holcombe: 9:39

Yeah. So if you don't have these documents, the first thing that they're going to ask is do you have a spouse? Most 18 to 24 yearolds aren't there yet, so if they don't have a spouse, it then reverts to your parents. If you've got two parents who went through a contentious divorce or they're no longer speaking with each other, the two of them are going to have to make a decision together, and that is oftentimes very difficult when you're already in a situation. For example, you know, if one of your kids was in a car crash and you're no longer speaking to the other parent, the two of you have to act in that child's best interest. You can't even be in the same room as each other, so that creates a lot of conflict that doesn't need to be there. If you would have executed this medical power of attorney and said this parent is going to be the one in charge.

Alex Hunt: 10:23

Yeah, like conflict at the worst possible.

Bri Holcombe: 10:25

Absolutely.

Alex Hunt: 10:27

Okay, so those are the must-haves. Tell me about the nice-to-haves or you know, things that are kind of optional for younger people starting their lives.

Bri Holcombe: 10:38

So I would say first is the will. You know, the will is the document that says when I die, here's where I want my stuff to go and here's who's going to be in charge. A lot of 18 to 25 year olds may not have any property that is ready to be distributed, and the property that they do have might be held in a non-probate asset, which is things like payable on death accounts, joint accounts with maybe, a parent, any life insurance if they've got retirement. Those things go to the beneficiary designations on those policies or the other account owners. A will is just nice because your wishes are laid out. What if, instead of your parents obtaining your property, you wanted to give it to your sibling? If your wishes aren't on paper, there's no, you know I don't know what the word is guideline, if you will, for how that property should go.

Alex Hunt: 11:28

Sure, and certainly if you know, some 18 to 24 year olds are fortunate, they do have an estate. Sometimes that comes as a result. You know the Justin.

Bri Holcombe: 11:39

Bieber's of the world.

Alex Hunt: 11:42

They have their, they have an estate.

Alex Hunt: 11:44

They should certainly go and get some more complex estate planning and they have a need for a will.

Alex Hunt: 11:50

If a younger person that's 18 to 24, though they want to have a will and they don't have the funds in order to put forward to go to an attorney to get the will, they can get a holographic will.

Alex Hunt: 12:06

A holographic will is very simply handwriting out your will, not typing it out handwriting out your will and then citing it at the bottom and simply stating what your wishes are, and in Texas, that has the same effect as a regular will written out by an attorney. Of course, there are going to be some things that, if you get a will from an attorney that we'd certainly like to include it'd help make it a little bit easier for you should there be a probate process, but in the absence of anything else, having a holographic will, which is a handwritten will with your wishes that's just signed by you at the bottom, is something that you can very easily do and then just put it away for safekeeping, like with your parents or your loved ones give them a copy give them a copy, make sure it's in a safe place, um, and that's going to set you up a lot better than a lot of other people that are in that 18 to 24 year old age range.

Alex Hunt: 13:04

Is that what you would recommend, um, you know?

Bri Holcombe: 13:26

So if they do a will either with us or they do a holographic will, should it go to their parents? Got two living parents, your parents are going to be the one who inherits. Your siblings are not. Where we find more complexities is what if you know one parent is no longer with us, or both parents aren't with us? Then where does the property go? Account, a holographic will is definitely for you, but if you have, you know, created a successful influencer career, you want to make sure that everything in your estate is taken care of.

Alex Hunt: 13:59

Okay, so take me somebody that wants to do one of our packages, either like the kind of the 18 to 24 package or the whole package. What does the process look like from the time that they're either reaching out on our website or they're calling us to the closing out the case? What is the process?

Bri Holcombe: 14:15

So the first step is our intake coordinator just makes sure she's got all of our information. There's typically not many conflicts of interest when we have our estate planning, but our intake team runs a conflict check. And then what they do is they set us up with an initial consultation. A consultation can be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour where we talk through all the documents, we talk through what they are, what they do and who you think would be best to be in charge of each of those documents. Sometimes you have parents who maybe are more financially savvy, while another one may be more able to make health care decisions. You can pick and choose who you want to make these decisions for you. So once we talk it over and you decide who you want to be in charge of each of these documents, then what we do is we prepare drafts. What we do is we send you drafts with a big draft watermark on them. You look them over, you review them and you make sure that you understand what they say.

Bri Holcombe: 15:10

I don't want you signing documents if you don't know what's inside. There's a lot of legalese. People often get scared, but we want to break it down for you and make sure that you know what powers you're giving these people and what these documents do. So once you've approved your documents, we bring you into the office for our signing ceremony. We'll have two witnesses and a notary. We'll sign all the documents in their original form, prepare a estate planning binder where we put the actual original copies, but we also provide you with a USB. That way you can make copies, give them to your agents so that they can act when the time comes.

Alex Hunt: 15:46

Okay, great, you have a golden doodle. I do. He's your child.

Bri Holcombe: 15:53

He is. Don't ask me how many beneficiaries in the will for my son.

Alex Hunt: 15:59

So a lot of 18 to 24 year olds may not have children, but they do have pets. Is that something that can be accounted for in that estate?

Bri Holcombe: 16:07

Absolutely so. The thing about pets is that pets are personal property. So if you want your pet to go to someone specific, you want to make sure that your wishes are written out. My son has a line of seven people that he would go to. In the event, the first one's not there, we've got a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, in the event there's some sort of cataclysmic event that he survives, yes, exactly. Or you know, we're all on vacation and you've got his his line going to be very well taken. He is.

Alex Hunt: 16:37

Is there anything else that you think parents or young people need to know or should know? Want to know about this?

Bri Holcombe: 16:48

important for you to have those conversations with your now young adult. It's hard because you look at this child who just turned 18 and is going off to college and you still think that they're your baby, but they have reached the age of majority and they're able to go and act on their own and you want to have these tough and these hard conversations to appoint people and make sure that they're taken care of when you leave.

Alex Hunt: 17:13

Certainly Well, Brie. Thanks for joining us in our inaugural podcast, and if folks want to find more information out about Hunt Law Firm, they can go to familylawyerkatiecom. Thanks for joining us.

Bri Holcombe: 17:28

Yes, you're welcome, thank you.