Living Will and the Power of Attorney
A Living Will is an advanced directive giving doctors and hospitals expressed instructions regarding how you want your health care treatment handled. In the event of incapacitation or an irreversible coma and you are unable to articulate your desires, a Durable Power of Attorney can act on your behalf, while you are still alive, ensuring your wishes are carried out. These types of documents are an incredibly important part of your financial plan. The Living Will is generally focused on whether or not an individual wishes to have his or her life sustained by life support systems. Hospitals and physicians are more and more supportive of patients having a ‘living will.’
Whether to sustain life or not by artificial means is such a personal and highly emotional encounter that doctors and hospitals are not eager to bare that responsibility or to have to make such a crucial decision. It is very important that we put plans in place when our capacity to do so is fully intact not leaving painstakingly difficult decisions to be sorted out between family members and loved ones.
For clarity, let’s distinguish between the roles of ‘Power of Attorney’ and ‘Durable Power of Attorney’. Power of Attorney is a fairly well-known concept which is generally invoked for carrying out financial matters when the principal cannot be present. However, when the principal dies the power of attorney also terminates.
Durable Power of Attorney may be a more useful tool when dealing with the elderly and the informed. It allows individuals who can no longer conduct their own financial affairs and affairs otherwise, to continue doing so through the Durable Power of Attorney arrangement. There are no hearings or court proceedings to appoint someone Durable Power of Attorney. It is a simple matter of signing a legal document.
Once again, doing your homework is the key ingredient to success. If you are considering moving in this direction in your planning process, be as certain as humanly possible, that you choose someone you can trust who will always have your best interest at heart.
You may also find it necessary to have both a Medical and Financial Durable Power of Attorney. The Medical Durable Power of Attorney would only be able to handle and speak for your medical treatment and care; while the Financial Durable Power of Attorney would only be able to handle your financial concerns and matters.
In planning your estate, one of the best approaches is to talk to your family about what you plan to do. Open communication with family members and those involved in your life’s achievements concerning how you want to divide your assets is part of implementing an action plan that will help you retire in comfort and security.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
For information on your retirement plan and your investments – check your TSP.gov Account regularly.
For postal employees – your PostalEase LiteBlue account is your portal to much more than just your earnings statement
