Incapacity planning is something that you should consider seriously when you are looking ahead toward your senior years. It is clearly not the most pleasant prospect to ponder, but a significant percentage of elders do become unable to handle all of their own decision-making at some point in time.
Who would make decisions on your behalf if you were to become incapacitated? The answer to this question is entirely up to you. If you do nothing, interested parties could petition the state to appoint a guardian to handle your decision making, and you would become a ward.
Most people would not find this to be a very appealing prospect, because the state could appoint a representative that you never would have selected yourself when you were capable of communicating your own decisions.
This is one drawback, but in addition to the loss of control, family members could disagree with regard to the appropriate course of action. Acrimony could arise within the family during a challenging time when people should be coming together in support of one another.
Durable Powers of Attorney
You can take the matter into your own hands through the creation of the appropriate legally binding documents. A well constructed incapacity plan will typically include the execution of durable powers of attorney.
The “durable” designation is significant. A power of attorney that is not durable would not remain in effect if the grantor of the power was to become incapacitated. Durable powers of attorney do stay effective, and this is why they are used for incapacity planning purposes.
You would use a durable power of attorney for health care to name someone to make medical decisions on your behalf in the event of your incapacitation.
In addition to this, you should also have a durable financial power of attorney to empower a representative of your choosing to handle your finances if you were to become incapacitated at some point in time.
When you have durable powers of attorney in place, your own hand-picked decision-makers will be standing at the ready to act on your behalf if it becomes necessary.
Download Our Special Report
Our firm has prepared a special report that takes an in-depth look at incapacity planning. This report will provide you with a solid foundation of very useful information.
The special report is being offered to our readers on a complimentary basis at the present time, and you can access your copy through this website.
To get your copy of the report, click this link and follow the simple instructions: Special Report on Incapacity Planning.
Schedule a Free Consultation
Contact us through this page if you would like to discuss incapacity planning with a licensed professional: Grand Forks ND Estate Planning Attorneys.
To learn more, please download our free Durable Power of Attorney in North Dakota here.
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- Building Flexibility into Your Plan - September 10, 2020
