Living v. Dying
Do you have a full set of living estate planning documents? The Last Will and Testament will cover you when you die, but what plan do you have for all of the time you are alive? The life expectancy for 2018 is just over 79 years for an American. If the age of majority, when you become a legal adult, is 18, you have an additional 61 years to live for on average.
The Living documents in an estate plan become extremely important considering the events that can impact your life in the years of adulthood. We include the following living documents in all our estate planning packages:
- Durable Power of Attorney. Let’s shorten this one to DPOA, shall we? The DPOA typically is a plan for when you become unable to make financial decisions for yourself. While a DPOA can be made effective immediately, make sure to talk with a qualified attorney to take the necessary precautions. You will often hear words like “Principal” and “Agent” when you talk about this kind of document. The principal is you, and the agent is the person that can make decisions for you. The Agent receives the power to step into your shoes to make decisions just like you can. “Durable” makes sure that even if you are incapacitated, your agent can make decisions for you.
- Combination Advanced Directive to Physicians and Medical Power of Attorney. This document combines the Advanced Directive to Physicians or “Living Will” with a Medical Power of Attorney, MPOA for short. The Advanced Directive is going to tell physicians how you want to be treated with life support. It answers the question – Do the doctors use invasive life support? The MPOA is the DPOA partner. The MPOA only deals with medical decisions. Your agent named in the MPOA will be able to make the medical decisions for you when you are unable. If you are able, the doctors are going to ask you instead.
- HIPAA Release. The HIPAA Release names a set of individuals that you wish to have access to your medical information. For instance, my sister, who is listed on my HIPAA, can call up the hospital, and the medical staff can share with her how I am doing.
- Declaration of Guardian. This document allows you to name a person that will be the guardian of your person and your estate in the event you are unable to care for yourself and/or your financial affairs. If you are thinking this sounds like a guardian for my children, you are correct. This document is used in the event you need someone to care for you in a similar way a parent would care for her child. The guardian of your person is able to make decisions for your daily life – where you will live. The guardian of your estate is able to make financial decisions for you – whether to pay for an educational program for you. These two guardians, one for the person and one for the estate, can either be the same person or two different people.
- Appointment of Guardian for Minor Children (if needed). If you have minor children, this document will save time and money in the event that you need to have guardians appointed for your children. It is a simple way to plan for a life changing event without much effort or money. Otherwise, without this document, a court will have to work much harder to make sure to find the right guardian for your children.
If you are living without these documents, Call us today – (877) 622-5840. Or, check out our Digital Estate Planning packages for a simple way to update your estate plan. Our digital solutions usually take about 15 minutes to get started.
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