A surprising number of people have not yet attended to their estate planning. Perhaps this is because estate planning has become much more complicated in recent years, even though the burden of taxes at death has declined. Estate planning now usually covers medical and financial decisions before the end of life, as well as after death.
Here are the documents that will be drafted for many estate plans today and what they are for:
- Financial
- Will: Identifies beneficiaries. May establish one or more trusts for ongoing asset management. Nominates the person or organization to be responsible for estate settlement.
- Power of Attorney: Delegates authority to an agent to make financial decisions. The agent’s authority ends when the principal is incapacitated.
- Durable Power of Attorney: Delegates financial decision power to an agent, even if the principal is incapacitated. Sometimes, the power “springs” into being upon incapacity or other identified event.
- Revocable Living Trust: Transfers assets and full financial management authority to a trustee. The trust may continue into incapacity, even beyond the trustor’s death.
- Medical
- Power of Attorney for Healthcare (aka Health Care Proxy): Identifies an individual to make medical decisions when one is unconscious or incapacitated.
- Living Will: Provides guidelines for medical decisions when an individual becomes terminally ill, such as whether feeding tubes or ventilators should be used to prolong life.
- Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR): Requests that cardiopulmonary resuscitation not be used if one’s heart or breathing stops.
As you progress through various milestones and stages of your life, your estate planning needs will vary. However, your need for a plan is definite and constant. Our advisors can help you consider the appropriate plan and work with you and your attorney to create or update that plan. For more information, visit our website: https://www.lptrust.com/our-services/estate-planning/.
If you are a Legacy client and have questions, please do not hesitate to contact your Legacy advisor. If you are not a Legacy client and are interested in learning more about our approach to personalized wealth management, please contact us at 920.967.5020 or info@lptrust.com.
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Any developments occurring after July 1, 2022, are not reflected in this article.
This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only.
It is not intended as legal, accounting, or financial planning advice.