Around the end of each year I like to take an inventory of myself, what I did in the past year and what changed over that time. There have been new additions to my family; I have grown closer to some friends and more distant with others; we've moved to a new house; and in general things have changed considerably. With all of the change, it's a perfect time to update my estate plan to reflect these and other changes that have happened since I executed my estate planning documents nearly eight years ago.
I need to update my documents and you probably do too; or you need to create an estate plan if you don't have one already. Some questions that you should ask yourself in determining whether you need to update your estate planning documents are
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My answer is short: "Then you don't have a will." In Oregon, a will is only valid if you sign it and it's properly witnessed.
I also ask them if they have a durable power of attorney and advance health care directive. Either a will or trust will form the backbone of your estate plan, but you should also have a durable power of attorney for finances and advance health care directive to complete your estate plan.
2. Has the size of your estate changed?
If the size of your estate has increased then you may need a new estate plan to address the increase for estate tax reasons or from a financial planning standpoint. Even a decrease in your estate may necessitate a change since tax planning in your previous estate planning documents may no longer be necessary or adequate.
3. Have you divorced or married?
Once finalized a divorce automatically revokes your will. If you didn't update your existing estate plan after the divorce then you need to do so as soon as possible. If your will is revoked then your estate may pass through intestate succession unless you execute a new will or
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You may have had an excellent relationship with your son at the time you executed your will in 1990 but since that time your relationship has deteriorated so much that you haven't spoken to him in 10 years. Do you still want your son to receive all of your estate and if so do you want his share to be held in trust for his benefit during his lifetime with the remainder going directly to his children.
Has a beneficiary become disabled since you last executed your will or trust? Has a beneficiary developed a gambling habit or spending habits that you may disagree with?
Under these types of circumstances you will definitely want to update your will, trust and other estate planning documents to address these changes.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of estate planning is to address how you would like to be treated in the event of your incapacity and how you would like your property to be treated after you pass away. Failing to update your estate planning documents can result in improper management of your finances during your lifetime and your property being distributed to people or organizations that you no longer wish to receive it.
These questions are non-exhaustive. Please call our office to schedule an appointment to review your existing estate planning documents and discuss changes that you would like made.
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As we get older and delve into the real world, it is important to start thinking about end-of-life care and advance directives. Although it is something no one wants to imagine, there is an absolute necessity for living wills and a power of attorney. Learning about the Patient Self-Determination Act and the different legal basis in where you live is important because it will help people understand why advance care directives are so important. Although there are several barriers in implementing advance care directives, there are also several actions that healthcare professionals can take to overcome these obstacles. These are also important to know about, especially for someone going into the medical field.
A living will is a type of advanced health care directive, which states an individual’s wishes for health care treatment when he/she is terminally ill. Living wills are often applied to end-of-life decision making when patients are no longer deemed competent to direct care for themselves. The form of living wills can vary widely. But, most address whether or not to use life-prolong medical treatment such as CPR, respirators, and artificial nutrition and hydration. These documents can also contain information about the importance of quality of life for patients and can name a healthcare proxy to make medical decisions in their place. Having a living will allows individuals to state their
And who needs a living will? Essentially, a living will is a type of expression of independence. We are, after all, free to choose, in life and in death. The expression living will is sometimes utilized to refer to a file in which you compose down exactly what you want to take place if you become ill and can not interact your desires about treatment. It is quite common, for instance, for individuals to compose a living will saying that they do not wish to be kept alive on artificial life supports if they have no hope of healing. The term advance regulation is also often used to describe such a file. Some individuals likewise use the phrase proxy instruction to explain a file that integrates a Power of Lawyer and a living will.
Two examples of Advance Care Directives, which are living wills that allow a person to document end of life medical treatment, are the FiveWishes and MyDirectives in the United States. The FiveWishes directive is described as living with a heart and soul and follows five wishes. These wishes include: the person which will make decisions regarding the patient’s health when the patient is not able to, the kind of medical treatment wanted and not wanted, the level of comfortability of the patient, how the patient is treated, and the amount of information that the patient’s loved ones know. The MyDirec...
All shared gifts must be sold, and the net proceeds distributed as the will directs, unless all beneficiaries for that gift agree in writing, after my death, that the gift need not be sold.
Consider the validity and effect of the following two clauses in the will of Dan: a) ‘I leave my cottage, at 42 Drumsesk Road, to my friend Gurpreet in full confidence that he will dispose of it in accordance with the instructions given to him during my lifetime’. Just before Dan signed the will, he told Gurpreet that he had left a ‘sum of money’ in the will to Gurpreet which he wanted him to hold for the benefit of Jenny. Gurpreet witnessed the will. Jenny died two days before Dan leaving two children. b) ‘I leave my residuary estate to my brothers Ken and Sam jointly’. A few days before the execution of the will Dan gave Ken a sealed envelope, saying ‘these are some instructions I want you and Sam to carry out when I die’. Ken replied ‘you know you can rely on me – if it’s fine with Sam it’s fine with me’. A year later Sam and Dan were killed in a car accident. The sealed envelope says that Dan wanted his residuary estate to pass to his youngest son Joseph. Advise the executors of Dan’s will.
While navigating the abundant and sometimes confusing legal language of advance directives can be time consuming, it would benefit every person to consider their end of life wishes and have some form of written statement available for their doctor and family to understand those wishes. Doing this in advance can prevent emotional anguish, suffering and expensive litigation. In the end, clearly and when possible, written, documentation of a medical directive, a living will, or a chosen health care power of attorney will lessen the burden for the medical professionals and family of a dying or incapacitated person.
The care of patients at the end of their live should be as humane and respectful to help them cope with the accompanying prognosis of the end of their lives. The reality of this situation is that all too often, the care a patient receives at the end of their life is quite different and generally not performed well. The healthcare system of the United States does not perform well within the scope of providing the patient with by all means a distress and pain free palliative or hospice care plan. To often patients do not have a specific plan implemented on how they wish to have their end of life care carried out for them. End of life decisions are frequently left to the decision of family member's or physicians who may not know what the patient needs are beforehand or is not acting in the patient's best wishes. This places the unenviable task of choosing care for the patient instead of the patient having a carefully written out plan on how to carry out their final days. A strategy that can improve the rate of care that patients receive and improve the healthcare system in general would be to have the patient create a end of life care plan with their primary care physician one to two years prior to when the physician feels that the patient is near the end of their life. This would put the decision making power on the patient and it would improve the quality of care the patient receives when they are at the end of their life. By developing a specific care plan, the patient would be in control of their wishes on how they would like their care to be handled when the time of death nears. We can identify strengths and weakness with this strategy and implement changes to the strategy to improve the overall system of care with...
Richard A. Gephardt, Being Careful with Social Security [article online], Newsweek Inc. Accessed 15 January 1997; Page A19. Social Security Administration. Available from http://www.ssa.gov
I believe the outline is positively encouraging, although it is somewhat demanding if I were to immediately incorporate the changes. For me, there are already some activities that I am involved in that are covered in the outline. That is to start a spiritual practice or an activity that relates to permaculture. I help my parents with a small crop garden, which provides us with vegetation.
Death is a personal experience and to ensure loved one’s wishes, there has to be the ‘what if’ conversation. It is natural to talk about the possible end with loved ones after marriage and having children. Living wills are obtained and do not resuscitate orders, thoughts of a possible guardian for the children, life insurance, appointing a health care agent, and any other loose ends that will ensure the well being of the family. A health care agent is someone who the patient designates to make medical decisions, if decisions cannot be made generally. The chosen agent should be a person who knows the wishes on the extent of medical care treatment wanted. The appointed health care agent should be someone who is not afraid to ask questions of the healthcare professionals to get information needed to make decisions and be assertive to ensure that wishes are respected. (Healthcare Agents, n.d.).
It can also be quite stressful for the dying individual if the family members are attempting to plan their funeral and they are unable to communicate their wishes (Callanan & Kelley, 1992: 42-43). This issue of miscommunication occurs closer to death, so if the planning process starts soon enough the dying individual should be able to effectively communicate their wishes (Callanan & Kelley, 1992: 42-43). It has also impacted the dying individual in positive ways. Because of this, there are now places that individuals can transition into before the actual dying process begins. For example, in past decades, individuals with dementia would have to stay at home and be cared for by their friends and family, who while trying their best, may not have been able to cope with the demands of that individual along with their own personal lives (Dosa, 2010). Now, these individuals, when money and resources allow, are able to access special institutions and sectors in hospitals that are specially equipped to deal with those demands (Dosa, 2010). But this transition has plenty of financial challenges that go along with
Not to mention other financial decisions. Strategies to maintain purchasing power due to the effects of inflation, preparing for incapacity and minimizing taxes are all important in the post-retirement planning process. Make sure that your parents receive adequate advice from a qualified financial advisor, estate planning / elder care attorney and CPA. Ideally, your parent's advisor should be able to provide them with the appropriate references for their situation. There are a numerous of re-sources
...ation, planning, and considerations, retirement funds can be extremely low and can therefore cause severe hardship. It may cause retirement to be pushed back past the age of 70 to have access to enough funds. It could also bear stress to other family members, children for example, which would have to help out financially and delay their retirement plans. Utilizing the proper education, research tools, guidelines, and determination retirement plans can be set in place early to leave room to fluctuate over time. It is no one else’s responsibility but one’s own to prepare for their future, and therefore should take matters in their own hands. The question now is, are you prepared for retirement, and if not what steps are you going to take?
Planning is a way to respond to the changes occurring in the environment around a person systematically. Planning is an approach towards the problem solving rationally. It can be taken as a remedial tool for creating change in the current situation in systematic and efficient way.