When you ask the typical person on the street about estate planning he or she may well tell you that the exercise is all about drawing up a last will to direct distribution of your assets after you pass away.  Everyone is aware of the last will, and it is indeed the most commonly utilized vehicle of asset transfer in the field of estate planning.

But there are other ways to transfer assets to your loved ones, and the last will is not always the best choice.  And beyond this, there is another type of will that should be included in your estate plan that is called a living will.

Some individuals are under the mistaken impression that a living will is a document that somehow arranges for the transfer of assets while you’re still alive.  These people are probably confusing a living will with a living trust.  In fact, a living will has nothing to do with financial issues at all.

A living will is utilized to express your wishes regarding medical decisions.  People sometimes fall into incapacitated states and become unable to communicate with their physicians in real time.  In some of these cases they are being kept alive via the use of artificial life support systems and there is no hope of recovery in the assessment of the doctors.  With a living will you state how you would like to proceed if you were in such a position.

You can imagine how difficult it would be for your family members to make this decision in your behalf if they had no input from you. In addition, members of your family could disagree regarding the best course of action and this makes a horrible matter that much worse.  You can circumvent this possibility by simply executing a living will with the assistance of an experienced, licensed elder law attorney.

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The fact is that most people don’t pass away when they are in good health, right?  So when you are planning your estate, you invariably find yourself rewinding a bit to the days, weeks, and months prior to the reading of your will.

This leads to the question of how long you should expect to live.  If you examine the statistics you will find that the group of Americans deemed the “oldest old,” which is a term that refers to those who have reached the age of 85 and above, are the fastest growing age group in the United States.

Upwards of 50% of these people suffer from some form of dementia; 40% of the oldest old have Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to these problems with mental cognitive function there are many others that cannot communicate due to physical ailments.

So the facts would indicate that it is very possible that you will live beyond the age of 85, and if you do, you may well be unable to make sound decisions for yourself.

For these reasons and the simple fact that accidents and unexpected illnesses can strike people of all ages, it is a good idea to include advance health care directives in your estate plan.  Most people choose to execute a living will with which they elucidate their preferences with regard to the medical procedures that would accept and those that they would prefer to reject in the event of their incapacitation.

In addition, a health care proxy or durable medical power of attorney is also recommended, and these are especially important for same sex couples. With these instruments you empower someone to make medical decisions in your behalf should you become unable to do so at some point in time.

As we all know, same sex partnerships are not legally recognized in most jurisdictions, so the execution of a medical power of attorney making your partner the attorney-in-fact is a must if you want to make sure that he or she has the legal authority to act in your behalf.

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

We never know when our time on earth will come to an end due to illness or accident, and being prepared for such an event is obviously a good idea.  For those who want to be prepared in an effort to take the burden off family members in stressful emotional times, or for those who are either aging or seriously ill, the Five Wishes advance directive is an excellent option.

The Five Wishes document is a living will that allows you to communicate with your family and friends about the type of care that you desire.  The document describes what kind of decisions your loved ones may face regarding your health care.  Taking the guesswork and possible disagreements off the table in such emotional times will help your family deal with your illness or ultimate passing.

Most of us would like to make certain designations as to our personal care wishes if we are incapacitated or not able to communicate those wishes.  The Five Wishes document or living will in combination with a durable medical power of attorney allows you to establish various preferences including but not limited to:

• Designation of the person who you would like to make health care decisions for you when you are not able

• The kind of medical treatment that you want or don’t want

• How comfortable you want to be (i.e., medications, personal care)

• Life support preferences

An often overlooked topic in a living will is the purely personal side: telling your loved ones how you feel about them.  With the Five Wishes document or any living will you have the option of letting family and friends know how much you care.  You can explain your perspective with regard to matters of contention, and even offer apologies where they may be appropriate.

Whether you choose the Five Wishes document or a traditional living will in combination with a durable medical power of attorney, your loved ones will be glad that you did.

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you decide to do some research into estate planning you will invariably see a number of legal instruments referred to that you may not be entirely familiar with. Advance health care directives can fall into this category for many people, so we would like to provide a brief overview to give you an idea of what these vehicles are intended to achieve and why they are important.

The most commonly used advance health care directives are the living will and the durable medical power of attorney or health care proxy. People are living longer than ever, and these expanding lifespans increase the possibility of a period of incapacity at some point. And of course people of all ages can become incapacitated as a result of an accident or due to a sudden and unexpected illness. Advance health care directives are documents that you can use to state your wishes with regard to medical matters in advance should you become unable to communicate them.

With a living will you can directly communicate the types of medical procedures you would be willing to accept and those that you would prefer to deny in the event of your incapacitation. The core issue in most living wills is the matter of being kept alive through the use of artificial life support systems when there is no hope for recovery.

The durable medical power of attorney is used to select someone that you empower to make health care decisions in your behalf should you become unable to make them for yourself due to incapacity. The reason why many people execute both of these advance health care directives is because it can be difficult to address every possible medical contingency in a living will. When you name a health care proxy, he or she can act in your behalf in situations that may not be covered in the living will.

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.