Why College Students Need Estate Planning
I have a client who several years ago got one of those phone calls no parent ever wants to get. Her daughter, Susie, was a freshman at a college in upstate New York after having graduated in the top 10%…
Advance Directives: What You Need to Know
An individual’s estate plan should include legal documents that authorize a person of your choosing to make the necessary financial and health care decisions for you in the event you are unable to make your own decisions. Every adult individual…
College and Privacy: Planning Ahead with an Estate Plan
Whether we like to admit it or not, our children do not stay young forever. They grow up, move away for college and sometimes chose to pursue a career in a different state. Up until your child reaches age 18,…
Can I Use the Internet to Complete My Own Estate Plan?
There is a common expression we hear a lot, “penny wise and pound foolish,” but we rarely hear it being used by a state supreme court justice to describe a situation that could have been avoided. Since we live in…
Estate Planning: Why It Matters for Millennials
It is safe to say that estate planning is generally not a prime consideration for most young adults in their 20s or 30s. The truth is that estate planning for people in this age group is just asimportant as it…
Can a Health Care Agent Complete a MOLST?
If a patient has been determined to lack capacity, then an agent under a Health Care Proxy can complete a Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) on their behalf.
Protecting Your Future with a Power of Attorney and a Health Care Proxy
Who will take care of you and your finances and health care decision making if you become incapacitated?
The power of attorney is a financial document that names who will step in and take care of an individual’s finances if he is physically or mentally unable to handle them himself. The health care proxy does the same thing in the medical world. People often do not want to make decisions about naming a power of attorney or a health care proxy, but procrastinating is not the best option.
Advance Directives: Planning for the Unexpected
Are you and your family prepared for the unexpected? In the event of a sudden illness or injury, advanced directives can save you and your family time, money, and emotional distress.
The three advanced directives everyone should consider are health care proxies, living wills, and powers of attorney, yet these precautions are often overlooked by married couples.
This year I have had the pleasure of working with a married couple who suffered an unforeseen and life-changing event: the wife suffered a debilitating stroke while undergoing a simple medical procedure, and she needed the type of care that is only available in nursing homes.
Why Everyone Should Have a Will
It is estimated that 64% of Americans do not have a will. Some of the top reasons people give for not making a will include:
- I do not have enough money to need a will
- I just have not gotten around to it
- I will not need it for a long time
- I do not want to think about my own mortality
As recent celebrity deaths have shown, life can end unexpectedly in an instant. Without the proper planning, the inevitable can have many unwanted and unintended consequences for those you leave behind.
Do I need a Health Care Proxy and Living Will?
A common misunderstanding in the world of Elder Law and Special Needs Planning is the distinction between a Health Care Proxy and Living Will in New York – or whether there is any distinction at all. Both documents are essential…