Showing posts with label complete estate plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label complete estate plan. Show all posts

Monday, January 29, 2018

Including Powers of Attorney in Your Complete Estate Plan

Summary: Some people think that a simple will is enough to give them the basic estate plan that they need. While a will is better than no plan at all, a complete plan contains more and can do more to protect you. One element of every complete plan is the inclusion of powers of attorney. These documents can help give you the peace of mind that comes from knowing that, if you cannot make decisions for yourself, the person who will be speaking for you is the person you specifically wanted to do so.

While the rate of people developing dementia in this country has declined overall in the last few years, the news is not all good. The popular medical website webmd.com reported on a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that revealed that, although the overall rate has dipped, rates remain higher in rural areas of the country. Another conclusion of the study was that the incidence of cases of dementia is expected to double by 2050 due to the Baby Boomers.

Whether or not you are a Baby Boomer, dementia is a possibility for which everyone needs to prepare themselves. One aspect of this preparation is estate planning. There are two powers of attorney that will appear in most any complete estate plan. One is the healthcare power of attorney. This document allows you to name the person (your “agent” or “attorney in fact”) who will make your personal, medical and other healthcare decisions on your behalf in you cannot make them for yourself due to dementia or another form of incapacitation. (The law also allows you to structure your power of attorney such that the designated powers become effective immediately, as opposed to upon the event of your becoming incapacitated.)

As with any power of attorney, it is important to choose your agents carefully and thoughtfully. Your agent under your healthcare power of attorney may have considerable decision-making authority, including determining whether or not your will enter a nursing home. Additionally, in some states, one document covers both the traditional functions of a healthcare power of attorney and a living will, meaning that your agent could also have power over your end-of-life decisions. 

Another part of most every complete estate plan is the financial power of attorney, which allows the person you name in the power of attorney document to make decisions regarding your wealth and your assets. This power of attorney can grant very broad or limited powers, depending on the language in your document. You can give your agent the power simply to do maintenance activities like paying your bills, or wide-ranging authority like buying and selling assets in your name.

Another way to ensure that the management of your assets is handled seamlessly should you become incapacitated by dementia is the revocable living trust. A living trust allows you to name yourself as the initial trustee who manages all of the assets that you place within the trust. Then, should you become incapacitated, the trusteeship of your living trust will transition from you to the person you named in the trust document to serve as your successor trustee. A properly funded and maintained living trust may help you and your family avoid the need for a conservatorship, which can be an intrusive, expensive and stressful court action.    

This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com. 


This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan


  




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Monday, July 31, 2017

The Essential Importance of End-of-Life Planning with a Complete Estate Plan

Summary: Many people procrastinate estate planning. For some, the thought of these plans is uncomfortable. “End-of-life planning” can be one of the most uncomfortable areas within estate planning, but it is also one of the most important. One of the most important thing your plan can do for you is ensure that, when you are near the end of life and cannot make your own decisions, that the person making those decision for you is doing exactly what you’d want done.

There are many pieces that go into your estate planning puzzle. Most people, when they think about estate planning, they think about their will or living trust. In other words, they think about wealth distribution. Of course, there is much more that goes into truly complete estate planning. One of these other areas is end-of-life planning. It is an area that many people don’t like to think about, much less talk about and plan for, but it is an absolutely vital area of your estate plan. For most people, their end-of-life planning wishes are put in writing in either their advance directive (a/k/a “living will”) or in their power of attorney for healthcare.

Inside these documents, the law gives you the opportunity to name someone, who will be known as your “surrogate” or “agent,” who is tasked with working with your healthcare providers and making your end-of-life decisions if you are in a position where you are unable to make those decisions for yourself.

Getting these documents in place is a vital part of ensuring that your end-of-life planning preferences are realized. This is, however, not the end of the process. A study recently released by the Yale University School of Medicine offers a clear representation of what else is involved, and how often people come up short. The study results showed a massive communication gap between those surveyed and their surrogates. According to a press release from the university, only around 20% of the surrogates could accurately state what the person’s preferences for life-extending treatment actually were. 

That is why communication is as important as having a plan written down on paper. In order to make sure that your healthcare surrogate actually makes the decision you wanted them to make – whether that decision is order the continuation of life-prolonging care, or that decision is to end the provision of that care or that decision is somewhere in between (such as providing only pain medication or only pain medication and nourishment) – you need to be sure that both of you are only the “same page.”

This means having an open and frank conversation about a very uncomfortable but very vital topic. Remember when you and your child had “the talk” when your child reached puberty? For some, this conversation (whether your surrogate is your child or someone else) may be no less awkward, but it is definitely no less important.

Having this talk accomplishes two major things. One, it helps iron out any potential communication gaps about your desires, which, as the Yale survey shows, occur far too frequently. Two, it allows you and your surrogate to ensure that you are both comfortable with that person acting on your behalf. If, for example, you’ve decided that you want, in certain situations, to have life-prolonging care stopped, you need to be sure that the person you’re considering as your surrogate is prepared to do that job. She may have emotional or religious reasons why making such a decision would be difficult for her. Now is the time to get all this “on the table,” to make sure you choose wisely in selecting your surrogate (for the benefit of all of you.)   


This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com. 


This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan






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Location: United States

Thursday, July 13, 2017

The Essential Important of End-of-Life Planning with a Complete Estate Plan

Summary: Many people procrastinate estate planning. For some, the thought of these plans is uncomfortable. “End-of-life planning” can be one of the most uncomfortable areas within estate planning, but it is also one of the most important. One of the most important thing your plan can do for you is ensure that, when you are near the end of life and cannot make your own decisions, that the person making those decision for you is doing exactly what you’d want done.

There are many pieces that go into your estate planning puzzle. Most people, when they think about estate planning, they think about their will or living trust. In other words, they think about wealth distribution. Of course, there is much more that goes into truly complete estate planning. One of these other areas is end-of-life planning. It is an area that many people don’t like to think about, much less talk about and plan for, but it is an absolutely vital area of your estate plan. For most people, their end-of-life planning wishes are put in writing in either their advance directive (a/k/a “living will”) or in their power of attorney for healthcare.

Inside these documents, the law gives you the opportunity to name someone, who will be known as your “surrogate” or “agent,” who is tasked with working with your healthcare providers and making your end-of-life decisions if you are in a position where you are unable to make those decisions for yourself.

Getting these documents in place is a vital part of ensuring that your end-of-life planning preferences are realized. This is, however, not the end of the process. A study recently released by the Yale University School of Medicine offers a clear representation of what else is involved, and how often people come up short. The study results showed a massive communication gap between those surveyed and their surrogates. According to a press release from the university, only around 20% of the surrogates could accurately state what the person’s preferences for life-extending treatment actually were. 

That is why communication is as important as having a plan written down on paper. In order to make sure that your healthcare surrogate actually makes the decision you wanted them to make – whether that decision is order the continuation of life-prolonging care, or that decision is to end the provision of that care or that decision is somewhere in between (such as providing only pain medication or only pain medication and nourishment) – you need to be sure that both of you are only the “same page.”

This means having an open and frank conversation about a very uncomfortable but very vital topic. Remember when you and your child had “the talk” when your child reached puberty? For some, this conversation (whether your surrogate is your child or someone else) may be no less awkward, but it is definitely no less important.

Having this talk accomplishes two major things. One, it helps iron out any potential communication gaps about your desires, which, as the Yale survey shows, occur far too frequently. Two, it allows you and your surrogate to ensure that you are both comfortable with that person acting on your behalf. If, for example, you’ve decided that you want, in certain situations, to have life-prolonging care stopped, you need to be sure that the person you’re considering as your surrogate is prepared to do that job. She may have emotional or religious reasons why making such a decision would be difficult for her. Now is the time to get all this “on the table,” to make sure you choose wisely in selecting your surrogate (for the benefit of all of you.)   


This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com. 


This article written and published by:
8039 Cooper Creek Blvd
University Park, Florida 34201
844.306.5272 (Phone)
@assuranceplan
#legacyassuranceplan







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Location: United States
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