What Kind Of Estate Planning Can I Do If I Have A Terminal Medical Condition?
Upon the discovery that you have a terminal medical condition, you’d likely have a lot of thoughts running through your head, the last of which would be the need to complete estate planning documents. Unfortunately, you would need these documents nonetheless—and perhaps more than ever. This is one reason it’s wise to do estate planning sooner rather than later; it’ll allow you to avoid planning reactively in response to a terminal diagnosis, and free you up to spend your time in ways that enrich your life.
If you have already been diagnosed with a terminal medical condition and want to ensure that things run smoothly once you lose mental capacity or pass away, you will need to create a will or a trust. You will also need to designate a health care surrogate, and complete a durable power of attorney, living will, and HIPAA authorization form. Depending on the circumstances, you may also need to designate a guardian.
At minimum, you should have a will-based plan and durable power of attorney documents; if you want to make things easier for your family members upon your death, then you should consider funding a living trust-based plan during your lifetime. The trouble with living trust-based plans is that they are time-consuming and expensive to create, so some people may not have the physical or mental capability to complete one.
The more estate planning work that is completed once you are in a hospital, the greater the risk of disgruntled beneficiaries challenging the plan based on it being made last minute. Immediately upon diagnosis, you should consider basic planning; depending on the nature and progression of the illness, as well as whether or not a nursing home care facility will be needed. You might also consider asset protection planning.
What Sort Of Planning Can I Do If I Am Exhibiting Symptoms Of Alzheimer’s?
A dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis will greatly impact estate planning and the potential exposure of your planning to challenges by beneficiaries. Depending on the stage of your dementia or Alzheimer’s, it may or may not be too late to do estate planning. If you are still in the early stages, your doctors may indicate that you have the ability to continue with the planning.
A caregiver for someone who has Alzheimer’s, and has lost the ability to understand the nature of their actions, may be able to continue with some degree of planning through a durable power of attorney, assuming one existed prior to your loved one losing the capacity to understand and execute estate planning documents.
As a joint effort, the members of our law firm have written a book that addresses the relationship between estate planning and diagnoses of dementia or Alzheimer’s. I encourage you to call our office and request a copy which we can mail to you.
If I Am Incapacitated, Can I Choose Someone To Handle My Affairs?
If you created a durable power of attorney or designated a health care surrogate prior to the development of a cognitive impairment which affects your ability to make decisions, then the person(s) named would be able to take over your affairs without a court determination of incapacity and/or a doctor’s letter.
If you begin to lose your abilities and you still haven’t done this planning, then medical experts will need to be consulted regarding your ability (or inability) to understand the nature of your actions and the content within the papers you sign. This must be closely considered by the people around you, namely, spouses and children who could challenge the documents on the basis of them having been signed by you when you had less than 100 percent of your cognitive faculties.
For more information on Estate Planning For Terminal Condition, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (904) 398-6100 today.
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