As disheartening as it may be, statistics consistently indicate that a majority of Americans are not prepared from an estate planning perspective. Given this reality, recent statistics regarding the percentage of people that have a living will in place unfortunately come as no surprise to estate planners. A popular legal website conducted the survey, and it found that just over 60% of the respondents did not have a living will in place. Unlike a last will, a living will is not used to state … [Read more...] about Living Will Statistics Come As No Surprise
Advance Directives: Selecting a Medical Decision Maker
Advance directives for health care are important when you are making preparations for the latter stages of your life. In many instances, people become unable to communicate before they pass away. Medical decisions may present themselves while you are in such a condition. The purpose behind advance directives is to state your preferences regarding medical procedures as you also name someone to make decisions on your behalf if it becomes necessary. To record your preferences regarding the use of … [Read more...] about Advance Directives: Selecting a Medical Decision Maker
All Responsible Adults Need an Estate Plan
When you examine the statistics, you find that the majority of people in the United States have not executed all of the recommended estate planning documents. Many of us live busy lives and procrastination can often be the order of the day, but there is really no excuse for going through life without making any preparations for the inevitable. Even if your situation is not very complex, it is important to express your final wishes with regard to the distribution of your financial assets via the … [Read more...] about All Responsible Adults Need an Estate Plan
HIPAA Release Should Be Included With Advance Directives
Advance directives for health care should be a part of every estate plan because incapacity planning is part of the equation. A very significant percentage of people who live to an advanced age do in fact suffer from incapacitation at some point in time. One of the major threats to elders is Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer's Association states that one out of every eight older Americans is an Alzheimer's sufferer, and this increases to approximately 40% of people who are at least 85 years of … [Read more...] about HIPAA Release Should Be Included With Advance Directives
Medical Matters: Make Your Preferences Known
Estate planning is largely thought of as the process of leaving instructions regarding what will be taking place after you pass away. Without question, this is a large part of the endeavor, but it is useful to consider the period of time that may precede your passing as well. With the above in mind, the execution of advance health care directives is highly recommended. One of these directives is called a living Will. This type of will has nothing to do with arranging for the transfer of … [Read more...] about Medical Matters: Make Your Preferences Known
Including Advance Health Care Directives
When you are making preparations for the future there are things to consider outside of the purely financial realm, and one of them involves health care choices. There may come a time when you are unable to make medical decisions on your own due to incapacitation. If you do not state your wishes in a legally binding manner beforehand, these decisions would fall into the hands of your next of kin. In addition to the fact that it is very difficult to make sensitive decisions on behalf of another … [Read more...] about Including Advance Health Care Directives
