A comprehensive estate plan will cover all of your bases. You certainly want to make sure that you leave inheritances to your loved ones in the appropriate manner.
At the same time, you should also address the medical contingencies that you may face toward the end of your life. This is done through the creation of legally binding documents called advance directives for health care.
Living Will
One advance directive for health care that everyone should have is a living will. We have all heard of the document called a last will or last will and testament. This type of will is used to transfer assets, but a living will has nothing to do with asset transfers.
Physicians can sometimes keep people who cannot communicate alive for extended periods of time, even if there is no hope of recovery. This can be done through life-sustaining measures like mechanical respiration, artificial hydration, and artificial nutrition.
If you were in this position, would you want to be kept alive through the use of artificial means, or would you want physicians to allow nature to take its course? You record your wishes regarding this question when you create a living will.
Durable Health Care Power of Attorney
Another advance directive that should be part of your incapacity plan is a durable power of attorney for health care. These documents are sometimes called health care proxies.
The living will is going to center around the specific question of life-sustaining measures. However, other types of medical questions could present themselves if you were to become incapacitated.
When you create a durable power of attorney for health care, you name an agent or attorney-in-fact. This person would be empowered to make medical decisions on your behalf in the event of your incapacitation.
The durable designation is important. If a power of attorney is not durable, it no longer remains in effect upon the incapacitation of the grantor.
A durable power of attorney would still be in effect even if you become incapacitated.
Free Incapacity Planning Report
We have prepared a comprehensive special report on advance health care directives. This report is being offered on a complimentary basis, and it will provide you with a great deal of very useful information.
To access your copy of the report, visit this page: Ashland KY Incapacity Planning.
Contact Our Firm
If you are currently unprepared for incapacity, action is required. Every responsible adult should have an incapacity plan embedded within a broader estate plan.
We can help if you don’t know where to begin. Our firm offers free consultations, and you can visit this page to request an appointment: Florence KY Estate Planning Attorneys.
John’s practice focuses on the use of Wills and Living Trusts in Estate Planning to help individuals protect their families and preserve their legacies after their deaths, but his practice also focuses on the critical issues of protecting individuals with dementia or other diminished capacity, assisting individuals in qualifying for Medicaid and other government benefits to offset the costs of long-term care, and providing special needs planning.
John is admitted to practice law in North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Ohio, and he is accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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