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Tag: Power of Attorney Maryland

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Tell Someone about Your Advanced Medical Directives

MP900448483If you have a health care power of attorney and living will, you should make sure that someone you trust knows where to find them.

It is very easy to get advanced medical directives today. You can often get living wills and health care powers of attorney as part of the process of admission to a hospital. If you tell a doctor about your wishes, it is often good enough for the doctor to make a note of them in his or her notes. However, getting those documents at a hospital or by telling a doctor can be a problem.

The system of medical records used in the U.S. does not make it easy for doctors to know that you have expressed your wishes ahead of time, especially when they actually need the information as The New York Times reports in "You've Detailed Your Last Wishes, but Doctors May Not See Them."

There is a potential way to mitigate the possibility that this problem will happen to you. Get your living will and your health care power of attorney ahead of time, by going to an estate planning attorney. These documents are routinely created as part of the estate planning process.

Once you have created the documents, you should store them in a secure place.  However, do not stop there. Make sure that someone you trust knows where to find the documents. That person can then get them when needed, to the doctors providing care for you.

This is not a perfect plan that will work all of the time, but it is better than relying on the current system of medical records.

Reference: New York Times (March 27, 2018) "You've Detailed Your Last Wishes, but Doctors May Not See Them."

 

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Planning for Accident or Illness

MP900314367It is impossible to know whether you will ever have an accident or have an illness that will leave you incapacitated.  However, you can easily plan for dealing with it should it happen.

Most people generally understand that the older they get, the more likely they are to suffer from cognitive decline because of Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia. As people get older, they often begin to prepare for what will happen if their time comes and they become incapacitated.

What people do not think about is that elder dementia is not the only way people can become incapacitated. There are no age requirements for disabling accidents or illnesses. Everyone, no matter their age, should plan for what would happen if they are incapacitated. It is not difficult to do, as TC Palm discusses in "Be as prepared as you can by planning for incapacity."

To get started, schedule an appointment with an estate planning attorney. The attorney can prepare the necessary documents for incapacity.

You will need a general durable power of attorney, so someone else has the authority to handle your day-to-day finances. A health care power of attorney will allow someone else to make your health care decisions. A living will lets you decide ahead of time what medical means can be taken to prolong your life.

Consider taking another step at the attorney’s office and get an estate plan, just in case an accident or illness does more than incapacitate you.  A thorough estate plan prepares you and your loved ones for illness and death.

Reference: TC Palm (Feb. 20, 2018) "Be as prepared as you can by planning for incapacity."

 

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Estate Planning Is for Everyone: Why A Power of Attorney in Maryland Matters

Bigstock-Beautiful-woman-looking-throug-20311445[1]Adults who have never been married and who do not have children often think that they do not need estate plans, especially if they are not wealthy. However, estate planning is for everyone, and even lifelong singles can benefit from having an estate plan.

A common misconception is that if you are a single adult with no children, you will not need an estate plan.

Recently, the NWI Times wrote about one such case in “Single childless adults need to plan too.”

As the article points out, if such a person passes away without an estate plan, his or her assets will go to the closest living relative. That means if either parent is still alive, then the parent will get everything.

For some this default approach might be acceptable, but others will want estate plans so their possessions can be inherited by friends or other family members.

Power of Attorney – Maryland

Estate planning is also not only about what happens to your possessions after you pass away. One of the most important aspects of estate planning is determining who handles your affairs if you become incapacitated and are unable to handle them yourself.

You need a general durable power of attorney in Maryland so someone can handle your financial affairs and a health care power of attorney in Maryland so someone can make any necessary health care decisions. Because you are an adult, your parents will not have an automatic right to help you and handle everything.

Thinking about death is not enjoyable, but just because you do not have a spouse or a child does not mean you do not need to think about it at least long enough to get an estate plan.

Reference: NWI Times (July 17, 2016) “Single childless adults need to plan too”