Over the course of a single day, you make hundreds of minor and major decisions relating to your own life. You are also accustomed to making health care related decisions for yourself and you probably assume you will always be able to make those decisions. The time may come, however, when you become incapacitated and are unable to make healthcare decisions for yourself. How can you ensure that your wishes will be honored if that happens? The Hartford estate planning attorneys at Nirenstein, … [Read more...]
Include HIPAA Authorization With Advance Directives
When you think about the topic of estate planning the matter of arranging for future asset transfers after your passing may immediately come to mind. Unquestionably this is at the core of estate planning, but to be totally prepared for the eventualities of aging there are some other very important things to take into consideration. It is quite possible that you will go through a period of incapacity before passing away. The level of your incapacitation can vary considerably, but there may well … [Read more...]
Incapacity Planning in Connecticut: What Is a Living Will?
The process of estate planning should extend beyond the distribution of financial assets. Before you expire there may be an interim during which you are incapacitated. You may be unable to make and communicate your own decisions at that time. Is this a pleasant proposition to consider? Of course not, but it is a stark reality. Burying your head in the sand while you hope for the best is really not a very responsible approach. Incapacity planning is part of the equation when you want to become … [Read more...]
Choosing a Medical Decision Maker
When you are planning your estate there are obviously financial considerations. You must decide who will be receiving inheritances, how much each individual will be getting, and how you will be getting the money into their hands. You have a number of different options, and the best way to proceed would be to discuss them with a licensed estate planning lawyer. When you are doing this your attorney will invariably talk to you about some other important things to consider beyond the financial … [Read more...]
Survey Finds Most Without Living Will
Every estate plan should contain an incapacity component. It is very possible that you will become unable to communicate before you pass away. Decisions may become necessary, and you may not be able to make them for yourself. If you want to be comprehensively prepared you should execute documents called advance directives for health care. One of these is a living will. This type of will has nothing to do with arranging for the transfer of financial assets. With a living will you state your … [Read more...]
Estate Planning: What You Need & Why You Need It
Once you decide that you are no longer going to procrastinate about estate planning you are going to ask yourself exactly what you need. With this in mind we would like to share the various different components that are contained within the typical estate plan. Transfer of Financial Assets: Simple Wills Clearly, arranging for the future transfer of your financial assets is going to be part of the equation when you are planning your estate. The first document that may come to mind when you are … [Read more...]
Three Basic Estate Planning Terms
There are some foundational elements that are typically contained within estate plans in the United States and we would like to take a look at three very basic terms here to provide our readers with a rudimentary foundation. Wills Most people are aware of the fact that a last Will (or last Will and testament) is utilized to express your final wishes with regard to how you would like to see your assets distributed after your passing. However, there are some other types of wills that are used in … [Read more...]
