Young Adults Need Estate Planning Too Once a child turns 18, parents lose the legal ability to make decisions for their child or even to find out basic information. Learning you cannot see your college student's grades without his/her permission can be mildly frustrating. But a medical emergency can take this frustration to a completely different level. The parents (or a sibling or another person) will probably have to go to court and ask for permission to obtain information about the student's medical condition, be able to make decisions about treatment, and have access to the student's financial records and accounts. The following legal documents allow anyone, including a young adult, to name another person to make medical and financial decisions if someone is unable to make them for themself. The person(s) selected should be someone the young adult knows and trusts, and a candid discussion should occur now so they know what their wishes would be. These documents are not expensive, and everyone over the age of 18 should have them. Parents may want to set an appointment with their attorney after each child's 18th birthday and encourage other parents to do the same for their young adults. Having these documents in place does not mean anyone expects to use them, but everyone will be glad to have them should they be needed. In the Event of Incapacity * A Durable Power of Attorney for Heath Care gives another person legal authority to make health care decisions (including life and death decisions) if you are unable to make them for yourself. * A Durable Financial Power of Attorney gives another person legal authority to manage your assets without court interference. (A "regular" power of attorney ends at incapacity; a "durable" power of attorney remains valid through incapacity.) Your attorney can write it in such a way that it does not go into effect until you become incapacitated. * HIPPA Authorizations give your doctors permission to discuss your medical situation with others, including family members and other loved ones. In the Event of Death Most young adults do not have substantial assets, so a simple will is probably all that is needed at this time. It will let the young adult designate who should receive his/her assets and belongings in the event of death. Otherwise, the laws of the state in which the young adult lives will determine this, and that may not be what anyone would want. After the Documents Have Been Signed A little housecleaning will probably be in order. It is important that the designated person knows where to find financial records and passwords if needed. The young adult should consider making a list of accounts and passwords (including her computer's password), print the list and put it in a safe place; a hard copy is important in case the computer is lost or stolen. If an online back-up system is used, be sure to include it. Don't forget online accounts and social media. If there is anything the young adult does not want someone (think, parents) to see, either get rid of it now or ask a friend to delete files or remove things if something happens. Finally, the young adult should update these documents as life changes. : The Law Center PC
Estate Planning Things to Do Before You Travel
Estate Planning Things to Do Before You Travel Before any trip, most of us create a “to-do list” of things we have put off and want to take care of before we leave. Here is a checklist of estate planning things to do before you take your next trip. Taking care of these will help you travel with peace of mind, knowing that if you don’t return due to serious illness or death, you have made things much easier for those you love.1. Have your estate planning done. If you have been procrastinating about your estate planning, use your next trip as your deadline to finally get this done. Be sure to allow adequate time to get your estate plan completed in advance of your trip.2. Review and update your existing estate plan. Revisions should be made any time there are changes in family (birth, death, marriage, divorce, remarriage), finances, tax laws, or if a trustee or executor can no longer serve. Again, be sure to allow enough time to have the changes made.3. Review titles and beneficiary designations. If you have a living trust and did not finish changing titles and/or beneficiary designations, now is the time to do so. If a beneficiary has died or if you are divorced, change these immediately. If a beneficiary is incapacitated or a minor, set up a trust for this person and name the trust as beneficiary to prevent the court from taking control of the proceeds.4. Review your plan for minor children. If you haven’t named a guardian who is able and willing to serve and something happens to you, the court will decide who will raise your kids without your input. If you have named a guardian, consider if this person is still the best choice. Name a back-up in case your first choice cannot serve. Select someone responsible to manage the inheritance.5. Secure or review incapacity documents. Everyone over the age of 18 needs to have these: 1) Durable Power of Attorney for Heath Care, which gives another person legal authority to make health care decisions (including life and death decisions) for you if you are unable to make them for yourself; and 2) HIPPA Authorizations, which give written consent for doctors to discuss your medical situation with others, including family members.6. Review your insurance. Check the amount of your life insurance coverage and see if it still meets your family’s needs. Consider getting long-term care insurance to help pay for the costs of long-term care (and preserve your assets for your family) in the event you and/or your spouse should need it due to illness or injury.7. Organize your accounts and documents. It used to be that we could just point to a file cabinet and say everything was “in there.” But now so much is done online that there may not even be a paper trail. Make a list of ALL of your accounts, where they are located, and the user names and passwords, then review and update it before each trip. Print a hard copy in case your computer is stolen or crashes and let someone you trust know where to find it. Clean up your computer desktop and put your financial and other important files where they can be easily found. Make a back-up copy in case your computer is stolen or crashes, and let someone know where to find it. Be sure to include on your master list any passwords that might be needed to access your computer and files.8. Talk to your children about your plan. You don’t have to show them financial statements, but you can discuss in general terms what you are planning and why, especially when any changes are made. The more they understand your plan, the more likely they are to accept it—and that will help to avoid discord after you are gone. : The Law Center PC
