Wills & Estate Planning

Will Packages

Julie Kreutzer is an experienced Boulder will lawyer, serving the Boulder and Denver metro areas in Colorado with will and estate planning services. We do will packages for individuals and married couples with estates under $2 million.

Julie serves the estate planning needs of a variety of people including: married couples, single people, and people living in committed relationships who are not married (gay and straight).

Our will package includes: 

• Will
• Advanced Medical Directive
• Durable Medical Power of Attorney
• Power of Attorney (if desired)
• Property Memorandum
• Burial Memorandum

These documents work together to protect the client by ensuring that their wishes are carried out as to their property.

Helpful Information

Wills are understood by most as documents that will direct their survivors as to how they want property divided, debts handled, and so forth.  However, a will without any other documents might not be adequate to assist you or those you love.

Living wills are well known as documents that ensure that your wishes on healthcare are carried out if you can't speak for yourself.  I create two documents; an Advanced Medical Directive (similar to a living will) and a Medical Durable Power of Attorney instead of a living will because they are more effective in explaining your wishes, empowering friends or relatives to make the decisions and providing a legal basis that allows the doctors to follow your wishes. 

Additionally, a regular power of attorney can be quite useful if you are ill or unable to manage your affairs (for example, if you will be out of the country for a period of time).  Property memorandums allow you to distribute valuable personal property and avoid disputes.  Burial memorandums allow you to specify what you want and prevents your survivors from wasting money.

I provide several other documents as well, including a personal property memorandum, burial wishes memorandum, etc.  The goal of my package is to make sure your heirs understand your wishes and are given the proper tools and authority to carry them out.

Commonly Asked Questions

Why do a will?

If you die without a will (intestate), the law assumes that you prefer to give your estate to your spouse or closest relative.  They use a family tree and make certain assumptions that might not reflect how you want to distribute your assets. 

Is there an alternative to a formal will?

You can write your wishes in your own handwriting and sign it.  This is a holographic will and is valid.  The problem is that it can be contested and it can be claimed that you didn't really write it or that you wrote it when you were under duress or were not mentally capable.  The other problem is that wills of these kind are often missing critical details.  However, a holographic will is probably better than no will at all.

Why hire counsel to do a will?  

Most Internet products and forms are one-size-fits-all and may not even be applicable to Colorado.  The problem is that they do not know you or your situation and as a result, the will doesn't speak to specific issues or preferences that you would like to have addressed.

What does a will package cost?

Some attorneys charge a flat fee and others charge an hourly rate.  Because we do a basic wills package, we provide a flat rate for individuals and couples.   With that rate, you receive a meeting with me to discuss your situation in detail and up to three sets of revisions.   A call to our office will allow us to determine if your situation is one where our standard package is appropriate.

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Wills, Forms and Attorneys: Do You Need a Will? If so, what should be in it and where to get it.

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