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Your basic estate planning documents
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BASIC ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS Don’t leave home without them!
by JaNe e. sullivaN, esq.
The events of the past eighteen months have sadly illustrated, in often catastrophic fashion, how fragile not only our health, but our very existence can be. Now more than ever, it is crucially important for everyone age eighteen and above (so that includes the college freshman that you just moved to campus to start their new chapter) to have the following basic and affordable estate planning documents in place.
First, everyone should have a Health Care Proxy, so that if you cannot communicate your own wishes with respect to your medical care, another trusted individual can do so for you. You should name not only a primary health care agent, but at least one alternate as well. You can include specific directives in your proxy, include them in a separate document called a living will, or at a minimum, have a discussion with your agents so that they will be able to confidently carry out your wishes. You may want to authorize someone to access your private medical information immediately, rather than just upon your incapacity, via a HIPAA
(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Authorization.
This would be especially important for parents to have for that college student. For legal and financial decision-making authority, you should have a Durable Power of Attorney, so that someone can pay your bills, manage your bank accounts, and take care of your home, even if just on a temporary basis, due to an unexpected hospitalization. Even a married couple (or more importantly, partners who are not married) need to have this authority for one another. Having these basic documents in place will keep your care and affairs private, keeping you and your family out of the Probate Court during your lifetime, which far exceeds the importance of avoiding probate upon your death. Finally for anyone with a minor (under age eighteen) child, or a child over eighteen with special needs, or if you are the primary caregiver for someone who will not be able to take care of themselves if something happens to you, have a basic Will in which you nominate a testamentary guardian for that individual for whom you are responsible. The Probate Judge who may be called upon to appoint the guardian will generally give great weight to your recommendation.
This article is solely advisory and does not constitute legal advice. A qualified estate planning attorney should be consulted before you make any estate or Medicaid planning decision. Attorney Jane E. Sullivan has been providing estate and Medicaid legal services for more than 30 years. Her office is conveniently located at 624 Brayton Avenue, Fall River, and can be reached at 508-6790535 or jsullivan@janesullivanlaw.com.
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