Attorneys in our field emphasize the need for incapacity planning, and people generally agree that it is important, but they envision end-of-life scenarios for senior citizens. In reality, this is a shortsighted perspective.
COVID Wake-Up Call
When the pandemic originally emerged, it took everyone by surprise. Suddenly, people that were getting along just fine were being rushed to the hospital. Far too many of them became extremely ill.
At this point, vaccines mitigate the severity, and there are therapeutic treatments. However, at the time of this writing, there are over 26,000 COVID patients in hospitals.
This serves as a stark reminder that anything can happen to anyone at any time. It doesn’t take much effort to put a plan in place, and it is nice to know you have your bases covered going forward.
Living Will
An incapacity plan will include documents called advance directives for health care, and one of them is a living will. We have heard a lot about the use of ventilators since the pandemic hit, and this is one type of life-support, but there are a number of others.
Utilization of life-support is a complicated subject, because people can sometimes be kept alive indefinitely when there is no hope of recovery. In other cases, a patient may recover, but it is likely that they will have devastating disabilities.
There is no right or wrong way to approach this question, because it is a matter of personal preference.
You certainly would not want to make this decision on behalf of an adult family member without any knowledge of their thinking. Plus, if you feel as though you know what they would want to do, what if your other relatives don’t agree?
If you consider this scenario, you can see why it is important to state your life-support preferences in advance. This is done through the execution of a living will.
When you establish your living will, you can address each respective type of life-support if you have different preferences for each technique. A living will can also include organ and tissue donation choices and comfort care medication preferences.
Durable Power of Attorney
Another advance directive that should be part of the plan is a durable power of attorney for health care or health care proxy. This document is used to name an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make them on your own.
Why would you need an agent when you already have a living will? You need a representative to address matters that are not related to the use of life support.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996, and it was put into place to ensure patient privacy. A provision contained within HIPAA prevents medical personnel from sharing health care information with anyone other than the patient.
This includes family members, and it is worthwhile to note that it applies to all adults that are at least 18 years old. When you are devising your incapacity plan, you should sign a HIPAA release to give doctors the freedom to discuss your condition with your agent and anyone else that you choose.
Complete the Plan
We are focusing on advance directives here, but we should touch upon the other parts of the equation.
You can add a durable power of attorney for property to name someone to manage your financial affairs in the event of your incapacity. If you are using a living trust as the centerpiece of your estate plan, you can designate a disability trustee to manage the trust if it ever becomes necessary.
And of course, your overall plan should address the way that you would like your assets to be distributed in the event of your death.
We Are Here to Help!
If you would like to work with a Glastonbury, CT estate planning lawyer to develop a comprehensive plan, we are standing by. You can give us a call at 860-548-1000 to set up an appointment, and you can fill out our contact form to send us a message.
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