Essential Documents
The goal of estate planning is to make sure that your chosen people are able to support you the way you want no matter what’s happening. While Wills and Trusts are incredibly important and powerful tools, just like a hammer doesn’t solve every problem, a Will or a Trust on its own can’t do everything either. Below are some essential documents that— whether you have a Will, a Trust, or haven’t got there just yet— every person needs.
Durable Power of Attorney
A Durable Power of Attorney shares your legal authority with whomever you name in it. This is very important if you become incapacitated, so someone of your choosing immediately has the authority to help manage your financial life by doing things like paying your bills. Ideally, your Durable Power of Attorney should name an initial and a successor agent, just in case, and you should decide if you want your Power of Attorney either to become effective immediately or not until your incapacity. People sometimes create combined Financial and Healthcare Powers of Attorney, but usually they’re separate documents so that the documents can have different effectiveness triggers and different people can be named.
HealthCare Power of attorney
A Healthcare Power of Attorney, similar to a Durable Power of Attorney, shares your legal authority with whomever you name in it; however, it only shares your authority over healthcare decisions. This document is important for periods of temporary incapacity, such as the time period after a surgery when you’re still waking up from anesthesia, but someone needs to talk your insurance company or physical therapy offices.
Advance Directive
An Advance Directive, also known as a Living Will, is not a DNR, and it is different from a Healthcare Power of Attorney. The purpose of an Advance Directive is to guide your healthcare decision makers on what to do for you in an end of life situation. Although you may have talked with your loved ones about what you would want to happen if you were non-responsive and unlikely to wake back up, having your choices written down can be incredibly reassuring for loved ones that are trying to make decisions during the most challenging times. Having a written reference of your wishes can also be very important for preserving family harmony if there are differences of opinion.
Essential Documents
The goal of estate planning is to make sure that your chosen people are able to support you the way you want no matter what’s happening. While Wills and Trusts are incredibly important and powerful tools, just like a hammer doesn’t solve every problem, a Will or a Trust on its own can’t do everything either. Below are some essential documents that— whether you have a Will, a Trust, or haven’t got there just yet— every person needs.
Durable Power of Attorney
A Durable Power of Attorney shares your legal authority with whomever you name in it. This is very important if you become incapacitated, so someone of your choosing immediately has the authority to help manage your financial life by doing things like paying your bills. Ideally, your Durable Power of Attorney should name an initial and a successor agent, just in case, and you should decide if you want your Power of Attorney either to become effective immediately or not until your incapacity. People sometimes create combined Financial and Healthcare Powers of Attorney, but usually they’re separate documents so that the documents can have different effectiveness triggers and different people can be named.
HealthCare Power of attorney
A Healthcare Power of Attorney, similar to a Durable Power of Attorney, shares your legal authority with whomever you name in it; however, it only shares your authority over healthcare decisions. This document is important for periods of temporary incapacity, such as the time period after a surgery when you’re still waking up from anesthesia, but someone needs to talk your insurance company or physical therapy offices.
Advance Directive
An Advance Directive, also known as a Living Will, is not a DNR, and it is different from a Healthcare Power of Attorney. The purpose of an Advance Directive is to guide your healthcare decision makers on what to do for you in an end of life situation. Although you may have talked with your loved ones about what you would want to happen if you were non-responsive and unlikely to wake back up, having your choices written down can be incredibly reassuring for loved ones that are trying to make decisions during the most challenging times. Having a written reference of your wishes can also be very important for preserving family harmony if there are differences of opinion.