Updating Legal Papers
Updating your legal papers will make certain that your wishes are carried out as planned. At a minimum you should update your Will, healthcare proxy, power of attorney and beneficiary contracts whenever there is a significant change in your life or family relationships. Additionally consider meeting with your attorney to make sure no stone is left unturned.
Draft or Modify Your Will
If the deceased spouse was the first beneficiary to inherit under your Will, you must designate a new one. If one dies without a properly executed Will, that is they die intestate, the courts will determine who the assets are to be distributed to.
Draft a Living Will or a Healthcare Proxy
A Living Will presents your wishes for treatment and care when you are not able to do so. It is only followed when you are unable to make your own care decisions and only deals with life-prolonging procedures.
The second type of advance directive-often called a durable power of attorney for health care or health care proxy-covers those situations where you can't make treatment decisions for yourself, such as when you have an accident or take a drug that leaves you unconscious. It covers more than decisions about life-prolonging procedures. In fact, it can be written to cover any decisions you want it to cover. If you wish, the person to whom you give a durable power of attorney for health care could make any decisions about your health care that you could have made yourself.
Adopt a Durable Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney will authorize someone else to handle your financial affairs if you are unable to do so. Contact your attorney or download this document for free from www.partnershipforcaring.org
Identify /Owners When Possible
Where you have the opportunity, I suggest you assign your assets to individuals by naming them as beneficiaries. You can name beneficiaries to life insurance policies and retirement accounts-both individual retirement accounts (IRA) and employer-sponsored plans. For non-retirement accounts, check to see if a or contract is available. This will allow you to name a beneficiary just like you would on an IRA or other type of retirement account. Upon your death, those assets with designated beneficiaries will transfer directly to the named individuals or organizations without going through probate, saving time and attorney's fees. |
