Four Must Have’s For Proper Estate Planning
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by: MattCBA
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Studies suggest and research shows that well over 70% of adults still don’t have basic estate documents in place. And I guess that’s understandable. Who wakes up in the morning in eager anticipation, thinking, “Today’s the day to talk about my estate documents?” Nobody I know of.
But regardless of how old you are, everyone of legal age should have these basic documents in place; a will, a durable power of attorney, a health care power of attorney and a living will.
Everybody knows what a will is for – it directs who gets what assets and property upon your death. But what happens if you’re incapacitated either physically or mentally, whether it’s temporary or more permanent?
Since you haven’t passed away, the terms of your will don’t kick in. This is where you need to have what’s called a durable power of attorney. This essentially means that you’re giving somebody power of attorney to act on your behalf, making decisions on your behalf from a financial and legal respect if you are unable to do so.
There is also the health care power of attorney or health care surrogate. This is when you give a specific person permission to tell your doctor what sort of care you want and what sort of procedures you desire if you’re unable to communicate your wishes yourself.
This leads me to the living will, which I think is kind of a misnomer, as a living will is a document where you give medical providers permission to end your life. Specifically, a living will authorizes your doctor to withdraw life support if it appears you’re going to be in a continual vegetative state and have no chance of recovery.
DO NOT do this on your own. There are numerous websites and books and fill in the blank forms available all over the place – but if you make even a small mistake, your heirs may end up paying legal fees and court costs that far exceed the price you would have paid to have an attorney do it right first time. A ballpark figure probably would be somewhere in the $300-$500 range, which I consider ‘cheap insurance’, not expensive legal fees.
www.BrianFricke.com
About the Author
About Brian L. Fricke, CFP®: Brian Fricke is the Author of “Worry Free Retirement, Do What You Want, When you Want, Where You Want”. For the last 6 years in a row Brian and his company – Financial Management Concepts – have been named one of America’s Top Wealth Managers. Orlando Business Journal has named his firm one of the top financial planning companies in Central Florida. Financial Advisor magazine – an industry trade journal- has recognized him as one of the leading financial planning firms in America. If you’ve been in Central Florida over 10 years, you may have heard him on the radio. He used to host his own show on WDBO radio. He’s also served on the City of Winter Springs Board of Trustees Pension Fund. Brian is a Certified Financial Planner. His firm – Financial Management Concepts – is a Fee Only Financial Planning firm. They currently manage over $98 million of investment assets for a select community of clients. Brian and his team have worked with retirees and pre-retirees from companies like AT&T, Sprint, Harris, Lockheed Martin and Siemens/Westinghouse. For more information, please visit http://www.BrianFricke.com
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