You may not be aware of just how likely it is that you will experience a period of incapacitation at some point in time. According to the Alzheimer’s Association 13% of senior citizens as a group are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. This is a considerable number of people to be sure. However, this number swells to approximately 40% among those who are at least 85 years of age.
People who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease often contract dementia and this can make it impossible for them to make sound medical and financial decisions. If you make no advance plans to prepare for this contingency and you become incapacitated, the court could be asked to name a guardian to act in your behalf and you could become a ward of the state.
To prevent this you could be proactive and engage in incapacity planning. This would involve the selection of attorneys-in-fact who would be empowered to act in your behalf should you become incapacitated and unable to make sound decisions.
The best financial decision maker may not be the person that you want to see making your medical decisions. So, you could name different attorneys-in-fact to serve as the decision-maker for each respective function.
The selection of attorneys-in-fact is important and you must be judicious and discerning when you decide who you are going to empower. It is best to be pragmatic and practical rather than choosing with your heart.
If you are interested in learning more about incapacity planning, simply take a moment to arrange for a consultation with a good Hartford elder law attorney.
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