Get Your Legal Documents in Order

Courtesy Leu & Peirce, PLLC

The New Year is a time for fresh starts and optimistic outlooks. After seeing family over the holidays and contemplating the future, many will add “getting affairs in order” to the New Year’s resolution list. Including the following necessary documents in your estate plan will help ensure that your affairs are in order, and will help protect you and your loved ones, no matter what the future holds:

  • Durable Power of Attorney
  • Medical Power of Attorney
  • Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates (Living Will)
  • Authorization to Release Medical Information (HIPAA Authorization)
  • Declaration of Guardian
  • Last Will and Testament
  • Long-term Care Insurance

Many people think only of a Will when contemplating the legal documents necessary to protect their future. However, there are many more documents and considerations that are involved in developing a well-rounded estate plan. This is particularly true with regard to the documents that protect you during your lifetime. A Durable Power of Attorney and a Medical Power of Attorney are critical, yet often overlooked, pieces of long-term care planning, since they designate the person or persons who will be acting for you in the event you are unable to handle your own financial and health care decisions. Without these documents in place to protect you during your lifetime, no one is legally authorized to handle your finances or make medical decisions on your behalf. It is a common misconception that a spouse or an adult child has the legal authority to act for you. Unfortunately, though, without legal documents appointing these, or other trusted individuals, as financial and medical agents, the only way anyone can help you is to be appointed the legal guardian of your estate and/or person by a judge through a lengthy and costly court process. Although necessary in some instances, you can prevent this from happening by planning now and developing a comprehensive estate plan that includes more than just a Will.

Your estate planning documents are extremely powerful and should be executed after great contemplation. The people you appoint to act on your behalf as your agents should be only those with utmost integrity and whom you trust to handle your affairs now, as well as at the time when you cannot handle them on your own. If you do not trust the person you have named to act for you right now, be careful about naming that person to act for you when you are incapacitated. Further, alternates should be named in case any of the individuals you named are unable or unwilling to serve, so that you always have someone trustworthy in place to act on your behalf.

Everyone over the age of 18 should have a Durable Power of Attorney and a Medical Power of Attorney in place, because everyone, at some time, will need a financial and medical agent to act on his or her behalf. Both types of powers of attorney convey broad and strong powers, so before appointing an agent, you should consider who would be worthy of such authority. Often people prefer to appoint spouses, children, or other family members as agents, to keep affairs private and avoid hurting feelings. However, appointing a family member may not be the best option for everyone. In all cases, signing any estate planning documents should be done only after deep reflection as to the abilities and trustworthiness of each candidate.

Another often overlooked aspect to long-term care planning is preparing for the cost of funding long-term care. Americans are living longer than ever, and the cost of care in the final years of life has risen dramatically. Although not a part of the standard estate planning process, a long-term care insurance plan should be considered to help ensure that you have good options for quality care. While long-term care insurance is not for everyone, investigation into your ability to qualify and pay for such insurance is important. If you cannot qualify for long-term care insurance, there are other financial options that may fit your circumstances and will provide similar coverage for your long-term care.

Resolve to plan for your future, today. Traditionally, a New Year’s resolution is a promise of self-improvement. Make your future a priority and check these items off your resolution list, so that you can enjoy a fresh and optimistic start to your New Year.

Lori Leu, Erin Peirce, Lauren Olson, and Laura Chavero are Elder Law attorneys with Leu & Peirce, PLLC located in Plano, Texas. They can be reached at 972-996-2540.