Estate planning isn’t just for those folks with lots of property and investments. It’s for everyone. Estate planning includes the preparation of documents that express your choices for medical care should you become ill, and instructions for who will receive your estate or precious items upon your death. And if you have recently been divorced, you will need to take a new look at your current estate documents or create estate documents to preserve your wishes.
I’m Hingham estate planning lawyer Carolan Hardy. I help young adults, newlyweds, new parents, recently divorced clients and senior citizens think through the issues involved in developing an estate plan. I do so with compassion and care.
When you’re ready to protect your loved ones and share your wishes, contact me or call 617-750-9709 to schedule a free initial consultation at the office nearest you in Quincy or Hingham.
What to Include in an Estate Plan
Some parts of your estate plan can help you while you are still alive. Other parts of your plan only take effect after your death. Depending on your needs and goals, your estate plan could include one or several documents.
During Your Lifetime
- Health Care Proxy: A health care proxy gives one person the ability to make medical decisions on your behalf. It is wise to name a back-up proxy should the first person be unavailable. Be sure to express your healthcare wishes to those people so they know what you would want them to do.
- HIPPA: A HIPPA document gives the person you designated as your health care proxy access to your health information and medical records so they can make decisions with your doctors.
- Medical Directive/Living Will: A medical directive, or living will, is a document that tells your medical care providers, your healthcare proxy and your family what medical care you want to receive. It is not a legally binding document. It doesn’t force your healthcare proxy or family member to make medical decisions the way you instructed, but it does have legal significance and moral weight.
- Durable Power of Attorney: A Power of Attorney allows a friend or family member to make financial decisions for you and to handle your estate if you are not able to do so.
After you have completed these forms, send a copy to the person you have designated as your healthcare proxy and to your doctor. Keep a copy for yourself in your wallet or in the glove compartment of your car. If you do enter a hospital for a procedure or an illness, do not fill out a new health care proxy, as you will invalidate the one you already created.
After Death
For many people, a Will is sufficient for handling their estate after death. If you have minor children, you can use a Will to name a person or persons as legal guardians of your children.
Your Will can also name the person you want to administer your estate. After changes to Massachusetts probate law in March 2012, that person is now called your personal representative. This should be a person whom you feel is competent to carry out your wishes and distribute your assets. It’s also wise to choose an alternate should that person be unavailable.
You can be as detailed as you want regarding the distribution of your assets. You may wish to add a separate memorandum outlining how specific assets should be distributed. If you gave a specific asset during your lifetime, you may want to note that the item was already given and the date the gift was delivered so other heirs are aware of what has taken place.
Some assets are distributed outside of probate, such as retirement accounts, bank accounts, and insurance policies. For these assets you name a beneficiary when you set up the account and perhaps a second beneficiary. You may wish to review these beneficiary forms on occasion – particularly after a divorce (if your divorce agreement allows a change) – to ensure you still want the named person to receive that asset.
Parties may also want to consider how they may want social media accounts and online accounts handled, leaving passwords and instructions to their personal representative.
Making Guardianship Decisions
As parents age, families face hard decisions about how to care for frail or incompetent seniors. If families have not created lifetime documents such as a Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, and HIPAA, a guardianship or conservatorship may be needed. I offer clients and extended families the option of elder care mediation to make these sensitive decisions in a supportive environment.
I invite you to contact me or call 617-750-9709 to schedule a free initial consultation at the office nearest you in Quincy or Hingham. I primarily represent clients in Plymouth, Norfolk and Suffolk Counties, but I have and can represent clients in other counties.