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Estate Planning Document Overview
We have all heard the adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Nowhere does this adage apply more than with planning our estates. The American Bar Association has reported that nearly two thirds of all Americans do not have even a simple will! We recognize that the underlying goal of preparing a simple estate plan is to make life easier on the people you love the most during a most difficult time.Every estate plan should include some very basic documents. These include:
Last Will and Testament:
A Last Will and Testament names the person who is responsible for winding down your affairs as well as who should receive various assets upon your death. In a Living Trust-centered estate plan, the Will is known as a "Pour-Over Will." Its primary purpose is to transfer assets to your trust that were not transferred during your lifetime. Additionally if you have minor children, you can also appoint a guardian for your minor children in your Pour-Over Will. You should also complete document called a "Checklist for Guardians of Minor Children". This document provides guidance to the people you name as guardians as to how your minor children should be raised.General Financial Durable Power of Attorney:
This document, also known as a Financial Power of Attorney, gives people you select the authority manage your financial affairs in the event you are unable to handle your own finances. These documents can go into effect immediately or they can become effective only when a person is mentally disabled. With good counselling, clients develop their own "definition" of disability in order to maintain complete financial control unless and until disability strikes.Health Care Power of Attorney:
The Health Care Power of Attorney, sometimes called a Health Care Proxy or Health Care Surrogate Appointment, is a document that gives people you select the authority to make your health care decisions in situations when you are not able to communicate. If you do not have a Health Care Power of Attorney and you are not able to make your own health care decisions, the courts may have to be involved to decide what type of care you will receive. As illustrated by the highly publicized Terry Shiavo case in Florida, this can have a profound impact on your family (and not a positive one!). Within this document, or sometimes as a standalone, the people you select are also given access to your medical information in accordance with the "HIPAA" Regulations designed to ensure the privacy of your medical information.Living Will:
A Living Will, also known as an Advance or Physician's Directive, is a statement that instructs your family and physicians that you do not wish to be kept alive by artificial or heroic means if you are in a terminal condition or permanently unconscious state. Many people prefer to make this decision in advance so that their loved ones are not placed in the position of having to make a difficult decision.Preparing and signing these documents is a great start. But it is only the beginning of the process. We have found that despite all of the "legal" steps a person can take to plan their estate, there are still a number of "real world" obstacles that can impede the success of an estate plan.
Personal Instructions:
All of the documents we described above provide your loved ones with the power to make decisions on your behalf. Unfortunately, they do not provide much guidance on how to exercise the authority given to them. We will provide you with a number of different checklists that enable you to document your wishes as to the type of care you wish to have in different situations as well as instructions for your final arrangements. We have been told countless times by a client's family members how grateful they were that they were left detailed instructions on what action to take at the appropriate time.Document Storage:
Once you have prepared a Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will and Personal Health Care Instructions we often fail to consider where these documents are when we need them. Some studies have found that in four out of five times, a person's living will is not available when it is needed. We provide our clients with the opportunity to participate in the DocuBank® electronic document storage service. DocuBank® enables your physicians and/or family to secure a copy of your health care documents anywhere in the world, any time of the day or night.Click here to learn more about the DocuBank® service.