We are all facing a new reality with CONVID19. If you are like me, you have been doing a little spring cleaning of your house during your quarantine time. It is also the perfect time to do a little spring cleaning of your legal and financial affairs. Take a minute and look at your will and power of attorney documents to make sure they are current. If you do not have them, it is a good time to start. Having current documents does not take much time but saves your loved ones a lot of stress and time if something happens to you and it assures that your affairs are handled the way you would like.
Wills
Wills dictates where your property and assets go after you pass away. If you die without a will your estate will go to family members as dictated by the law. If you would like to have some of your estate go to an organization, a person or people who are not family, or have specific wishes then you need to make a will. Wills can also leave directions for how you want your pets taken care of or what type of funeral or memorial service you would like to have.
If you already have a will, you may need to update it. A few reasons why people would want to update their wills:
- Divorce or Marriage – Do you want your estate to go to your ex because you did not update your will after your divorce? Or, if you have gotten married since your last will was written, your spouse might not receive anything.
- Birth – Have you or other family members had children that are not accounted for in your current will?
- Death – Does your will leave certain items to loved ones that have already passed away?
- Change to your property of assets – maybe you have sold or purchased a business or property since your last will and need to amend it to reflect your estate.
Medical Power of Attorney
Medical power of attorney gives a person or people authorization to receive your medical information. Without this release medical professionals can not share medical information about you. Medical power of attorneys can also give others the authority to make decisions about your treatment if you are not able to. This type of power of attorney can be broad or limited depending on how it is written. You want to think about who you trust and who would act on your behalf the way you want to be taken care of. Medical decision making is not always easy but if needed, it is very important.
Just like your will, you want to periodically review your medical power of attorney and make sure that it is current. You want to make sure that the people listed on this document are willing and able to assist you if needed.
General Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a general document that gives someone else the power to act on your behalf. There are occasions where you may want to make a general power of attorney to give someone authority to take care of banking, financial matters, business deals, and legal matters for you. This type of power of attorney makes it much easier for the person taking care of your affairs. A broad power of attorney doesn’t usually kick in unless you are medically or mentally incapacitated. General power of attorney documents are as broad or narrow as you make it. Some people elect to not have one of these and that too is fine.
Every person has to make arrangements for these types of matters as they see fit. Just like people, these documents are all unique and reflect the wish and personality of the person who it is for.
Click here to schedule a free phone or video conference to discuss your legal needs. Because of the quarantine most if not all of this work can be done electronically to protect your health. I am also working on a sliding scale to help anyone that needs this service. Please make sure to let me know if you are in the military, a first responder, or medical worker.
