It is important to get estate planning conversations started with your estate lawyer and loved ones. Estate planning should be about more than just talking about money issues, it should also be about family health.
As an estate planning attorney, I am often asked to "draft a Will or Trust" for someone. However, when I begin talking about further health-care related issues, my clients often seem surprised that my initial discussion focuses more on health-care planning than the actual Will or Trust document.
For instance, common documents that I provide to all of my estate planning clients are Durable-Power-of-Attorney and Health-Care-Power-of-Attorney.
The Durable-Power-of-Attorney is a document where someone grants another person the right to make financial decision on their behalf if that person is somehow incapacitated. The term "incapacitated" means that a person can no longer make financial decisions because they are not mentally or physically able to do so. The Durable-Power-of-Attorney allows a person to serve as the financial "care-taker" for their loved one.
A Health-Care-Power-of-Attorney is equally important. Doctors and nurses often are asked to make fast decisions to help a person who is in critical need of care. Sometimes, the medical care providers may not be able to act without the directive from a legal document. If this is the case, a properly appointed person under the document can make decisions for their loved one that could be life-saving.
Legal documents like the health-care-power-of-attorney and the durable-power-of-attorney are often misunderstood. After all, legal documents are simply not very user-friendly. Because of this, I suspect that people don't discuss these important issues with a loved one. However, the failure to do so could have major consequences.
Is it me, or does nobody want to talk about their estate? Death is an unpleasant subject. People just don't want to discuss it. One way to try and talk about these issues is discuss health-care-directives rather than to simply discuss money. People are much more interested in willing to talk about their health.
Talking about death is a difficult topic. Nobody disputes that. Also, nobody wants to talk about death in regular discussions with loved ones. However, an easy way to start talking is to focus on health rather than money. This way, the person you are talking with will be more open and likely to discuss their estate.
Many estate planning lawyers or financial advisers suggest that finding a common ground is important. You should be able to broach an estate planning topic in a happy setting.
One of the best way to start the conversation is to start with everybody has in common. The conversation should be free and easy - perhaps at a festive family gathering. Allowing bad thoughts stop you from discussing these issues with a loved one is a bad choice. People get sick and people die. People accumulate money and other assets. Something needs to be done with it and it is better to start the conversation early before it becomes too difficult or, worse, impossible.
As an estate planning attorney, I am often asked to "draft a Will or Trust" for someone. However, when I begin talking about further health-care related issues, my clients often seem surprised that my initial discussion focuses more on health-care planning than the actual Will or Trust document.
For instance, common documents that I provide to all of my estate planning clients are Durable-Power-of-Attorney and Health-Care-Power-of-Attorney.
The Durable-Power-of-Attorney is a document where someone grants another person the right to make financial decision on their behalf if that person is somehow incapacitated. The term "incapacitated" means that a person can no longer make financial decisions because they are not mentally or physically able to do so. The Durable-Power-of-Attorney allows a person to serve as the financial "care-taker" for their loved one.
A Health-Care-Power-of-Attorney is equally important. Doctors and nurses often are asked to make fast decisions to help a person who is in critical need of care. Sometimes, the medical care providers may not be able to act without the directive from a legal document. If this is the case, a properly appointed person under the document can make decisions for their loved one that could be life-saving.
Legal documents like the health-care-power-of-attorney and the durable-power-of-attorney are often misunderstood. After all, legal documents are simply not very user-friendly. Because of this, I suspect that people don't discuss these important issues with a loved one. However, the failure to do so could have major consequences.
Is it me, or does nobody want to talk about their estate? Death is an unpleasant subject. People just don't want to discuss it. One way to try and talk about these issues is discuss health-care-directives rather than to simply discuss money. People are much more interested in willing to talk about their health.
Talking about death is a difficult topic. Nobody disputes that. Also, nobody wants to talk about death in regular discussions with loved ones. However, an easy way to start talking is to focus on health rather than money. This way, the person you are talking with will be more open and likely to discuss their estate.
Many estate planning lawyers or financial advisers suggest that finding a common ground is important. You should be able to broach an estate planning topic in a happy setting.
One of the best way to start the conversation is to start with everybody has in common. The conversation should be free and easy - perhaps at a festive family gathering. Allowing bad thoughts stop you from discussing these issues with a loved one is a bad choice. People get sick and people die. People accumulate money and other assets. Something needs to be done with it and it is better to start the conversation early before it becomes too difficult or, worse, impossible.
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Want to find out more about estate planning, then visit Joseph Flanders's site on how to choose the best probate lawyer for your needs.
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