Sometimes posts on law blogs can get a little esoteric. Every now and then it’s useful to go back to the beginning and set forth the documents that comprise a basic estate plan. Every single adult should have these in place, regardless of age, marital status, wealth, or whether they have children.
Last Will and Testament
Your Last Will and Testament sets forth how and where your assets will be distributed, who will be nominated as the personal representative of your estate, and — if you have minor children — who will be nominated as their guardian. Without a proper will, your assets pass through intestacy, meaning the law dictates who inherits your property instead of you.
Durable Power of Attorney
In your Durable Power of Attorney, you nominate a person who, in the event you become incapacitated, will have the power to make all non-medical decisions for you. They can open your mail, pay your bills, manage your bank accounts, run your business — everything you could have done yourself. You can make the grant as narrow or as broad as you choose.
Designation of Health Care Surrogate
The Designation of Health Care Surrogate works like the power of attorney, except that it allows you to designate someone to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated. This is not about end-of-life decisions — it covers the more basic medical decisions you may be unable to make on your own. Without both a Durable Power of Attorney and a Designation of Health Care Surrogate, an incapacitated person may be subject to a guardianship, a court-supervised process that can be extremely costly and burdensome on everyone involved.
Living Will
The Living Will contains your instructions for end-of-life situations. If you are in an end-stage condition or a permanent vegetative state, it tells your loved ones and caregivers whether you wish to be kept alive by machines or to be removed from them and allowed to die with dignity.
Some estate planning professionals argue that every person should also have a revocable trust. As I’ve written before, while trusts are the right tool for some people, not everyone needs one.