May is National Elder Law Month. Unlike most attorneys whose work is defined by the type of law they practice, elder law attorneys are best described by the clients they serve. Elder law attorneys work with seniors, disabled individuals, and their families in the following areas:
Diagnosing memory problems can be difficult. Memory problems can be caused by depression, thyroid problems, a reaction between medications, dehydration, vitamin deficiency, stroke, infections, and dementia. If you are beginning to suspect that a loved one may be developing a memory problem, there are actions you can take immediately to help them.
In 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives designated the third week of October as “National Estate Planning Awareness Week” in order to encourage American adults to create estate plans. Despite this, more than 50% of American over the age of 18 have estate plans. This year, in the face of a global pandemic, use this opportunity to learn how to protect yourself, your family, and your business.
The Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was enacted to provide guidelines to the healthcare industry for protecting patient information and privacy. For minors, this is a non-issue because parents, as legal guardians, have access to their children’s medical information and are the ones making most of the medical decisions, as well as paying the expenses.
As the coronavirus continues to disrupt daily life and leave Americans uncertain of the future, you don’t have to feel helpless during this pandemic. In fact, now is a great time to be proactive and plan ahead should you or a loved one fall ill. One of the most important and relatively easy things you can do (and should do) is to select a medical agent and set up your advance healthcare directive.
A Durable Power of Attorney is a document that appoints someone (usually not an attorney) as your representative in the event that you are incapacitated or unavailable. There are two common types: for health care and for finances.
A Durable Power of Attorney for health care appoints someone to make health care decisions for you when you are incapacitated. These typically take effect when you are found to be incapacitated. Under Washington State law, your spouse is the default decision-maker, but sometimes your spouse isn't available or the hospital has doubts about your legal relationship. What's the easiest way to provide clarity? And who is your back-up? In one document, you can appoint your spouse as the first choice and name 1-2 back-up people. I highly recommend talking with the people you appoint about what's important to you in your health care decisions, and making sure that each of them knows where a signed copy of your Power of Attorney for health care can be found, should it be needed.
A Durable Power of Attorney for financial decisions is also important. If you are incapacitated or unavailable, would your spouse have access to all of your bank accounts? Brokerage accounts? Emergency funds? This can be effective immediately, rather than requiring incapacity, which can be useful if one spouse travels frequently or may simply be unavailable. It is increasingly common for married couples to maintain one or more bank or credit accounts in their separate name, but to pool resources jointly. If you or your spouse is suddenly unavailable, would the mortgage still get paid without access to those separate accounts? If not, and if you want to maintain your separate accounts, a Durable Power of Attorney could be the back-up plan answer.
I am often asked if I can help with a will, and I always respond that I can assist with your estate plan. Why do I do that?
A will is a document that details what your assets are and who should inherit them, and who should be in charge of settling your debts and distributing any remaining assets. It is part of an estate plan.
An estate plan, by contrast, also includes Durable Powers of Attorney for health care and finances, and, if you are a parents, the appointment of a guardian for your minor child(ren), and possibly a trust to manage any assets they would inherit from you. Sometimes it also includes Advance Directives (also called a "Living Will") which addresses end-of-life decisions. The exact documents that you need will depend on your life situation -- your age, marital status, assets and liabilities, children (and their ages), and what you want to accomplish with your plan.
As such, when we meet to talk about your estate plan, we will talk about more than just who will inherit your assets. We will also talk about who you want to make end-of-life decisions for you if you incapacitated, and what your family will need to move forward after you pass.
Also, your estate plan should need to be updated every few years, depending on your life circumstances. The plan we create while your kids are in grade school should be very different from the one we create when you have grandchildren. I follow-up with past clients every three years to review their plans. Sometimes they are still accurate; often, there are small changes that we need to make -- for example, if you buy a new home, get divorced or married, have another child, or any myriad of other circumstances. It is not unusual to rewrite your whole plan every decade, which will give you the peace of mind that the plan you have will work for you should the unthinkable happen tomorrow.
