 | John Gibson
is a senior partner in the Wichita law firm of Gilliand & Hayes. He has been practicing law for nearly 30 years. In addition to healthcare law his practice includes wills, trusts, estate planning, probate and general representation of individuals and small business. Contact information: Phone:
316-264-7321; Fax: 316-264-8614; and e-mail: jgibson@boyerds.com |
Legal
2001-10-01 09:51:00
Making it easier... later
Answer: There are some specific things you can do now in the way of elder and estate planning to make it easier for your daughter to deal with your elder care needs when the time comes. I will discuss those below. One thing to keep in mind as you do your estate planning is that, since you are only in your 50s, your daughter may not have to deal with these care issues for 20 or 30 years. Therefore, regardless of what planning you do now you must remember to thoroughly review it at least every five years to assure your plan fits your changing situation over the years.General Financial Planning. One of the first things you can do, and continue to do over the years, is make sure your general financial structure is in proper order. This makes it much easier for someone else such as your daughter to assist you with your financial and personal issues later on. For example, having good investments that can be transferred fairly easily, having an assessable bank account, having your retirement plan and benefits in order, having appropriate insurance (life, health, property, long term care, etc.) arranged for, assuring that real estate is properly titled, all are examples of getting your general financial house in order. It is much easier for someone to take over and assist with running a well organized financial household as opposed to one that is in chaos.Health Care Power of Attorney. Kansas law provides that a person can execute a health care power of attorney granting to another the authority to give consent for health care if the person is unable to do so. Executing such a health care power of attorney, granting the power to make such decisions to a spouse and then the successor power to a child, simplifies this decision making process. A health care power of attorney is activated only when the individual is unable to make health care decisions for themselves.Business Power of Attorney. As with a health care power of attorney, a person can execute a business power of attorney granting to another the authority to make business decisions in the event the person becomes not competent. This allows another individual, such as a child, to make necessary business decisions when a parent is no longer able to make decisions. Caution should be used, however, since not all institutions or government entities will honor a business power of attorney.Instructions and Information for your Personal Representative. Part of organizing your financial and estate planning, and making plans to ease the transition for a child to assist with your elder care when the time comes, is to talk to your child. Tell your daughter what you desire and how you want things to happen. Just as important, in fact probably more important, is to additionally write it all down for her. Organize on paper all of your financial and business information, and instructions regarding how you wish certain things handled. For example, the names, addresses and phone numbers of your accountant, attorney, insurance agents, investment brokers, and others, are very helpful to a personal representative when taking over the handling of property and assets. Lists of what property you own, where deeds and other important papers are kept, where all of your investments are, etc., are extremely helpful. There are forms for this that can be purchased from book stores, are available on financial software, or may be obtained through your attorney, accountant or financial advisor. Finally, get all your important papers, deeds, insurance policies, and estate planning documents together in a safe and accessible location, and let your daughter know where they are.Property Management during your Life. There are various things you can do to make arrangements to have someone else manage your property for your benefit during your lifetimes, if you become unable to do so. These include utilization of powers of attorney as discussed above, voluntary guardianship and conservatorship under court direction, utilization of joint accounts, use of trusts, and others. Each of these methods have pros and cons, and your should discuss your own situation with your financial advisor, accountant or attorney. With proper information and advice you can develop a plan that fits you.Transfer of Property on Death. There are many different vehicles that may be used to transfer your property upon your death, and to assure your property is distributed according to your wishes. You can utilize payable on death accounts, transfer on death deeds, joint tenancy, gifts prior to death, various types of trust instruments, wills, and other estate planning tools. Again, there are pros and cons to each of these methods of property distribution, each situation is unique, and you should sit down with your financial advisor, accountant or attorney to determine how you wish to plan for distribution of your property on your death.To summarize all of this, being in your 50s you and your husband have a golden opportunity and most likely ample time to organize and plan your finances, elder care and estate distribution to make it easier for yourselves, and certainly to make it easier for your daughter to take care of you and your finances when the time comes. The most important thing is to begin the process now, to utilize the competent professional help that is available, and to develop and put into effect an elder care and estate plan. Finally, and to repeat what was initially stated, the planning you do now should be reviewed and updated at least every five years.
