Estate Planning - WHAT DO I NEED IN ADDITION TO A WILL?

While a last will and testament determines where your property is going to be distributed after you die, we recommend that you consider estate-planning documents that would help YOU during your aging process.  A power of attorney for financial matters would allow you to name a spouse, friend or companion as your agent to sign important legal papers for you during your lifetime when you may not be able to do so.  A durable power of attorney for health care would allow you to name your spouse, friend or companion to make health care decisions for you when you are not able to do so.  If you do not have a health care power of attorney and a financial power of attorney, your family may have to spend thousands of dollars in the future to file for a formal guardianship in court should you be unable to make important legal decisions for yourself in the future due to failing health or otherwise.

In addition to granting power of attorney for health care to a trusted friend or family member, you should consider filing an advanced health care directive or living will.  This document will set forth your health care preferences in the event of incapacitation or serious illness, and will relieve your health care advocate, if you have appointed one, from having to make these decisions for himself/herself.  A living will gives specific instructions to caregivers on whether/when to continue life-preserving treatments if you are in a permanent vegetative state or suffering from debilitating illness.  A doctor must certify that you have reached this seriously impaired condition before the terms of the living will can be applied.  You won’t have to worry about a premature removal from life-prolonging care after a heart attack or stroke, for example. Laws on living wills and health care directives vary state by state, so you will want to consult with an attorney about filing the relevant health care documents as part of your overall estate-planning portfolio.

We also recommend that clients consider signing a HIPPA medical information release so that your loved ones could communicate with doctors and nurses about your condition.

So, estate planning is important not just to determine who was going to inherit from you after you pass, but to make decisions that will help you in the future at times of failing health.

Articles contained here are not intended to provide legal advice, only providing general information. We encourage individuals to consult with an attorney regarding individual circumstances.