Is Court-Appointed Guardianship or Conservatorship in Your Future?
If you are an adult in Idaho and become unable to make your own decisions in life due to injury, illness, or some other form of incapacity, there are two basic ways in which another person becomes the stand-in decision maker for you. The first way is through the use of a previously written and signed Power of Attorney Document in which you will have stated who it is that should make your decisions for you if you cannot do so. That stand-in decision maker is called your “Agent” or your “Attorney in Fact.” However, if you have not previously completed valid Power of Attorney documents, a judge will need to appoint someone to become your decision maker through a court process known as Guardianship and Conservatorship. If a judge has to appoint your stand-in decision maker, that person will be called your “guardian” and/or “conservator.”
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Which Type of Business Entity is Right for My Company?
There are many different types of business entity structures that you can utilize as a business owner, but there can be uncertainty regarding which business entity is the right one for you. Choosing the right type of business entity is an important part of ensuring that you will be able to achieve your business goals
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How Important is Estate Planning if You Aren’t Rich?
I’m often asked if a person needs a Power of Attorney document if that person already has a Last Will and Testament (“Will”). It is a good question. The simple answer for almost everyone is yes – you should have both a Will and a Power of Attorney document. Let’s look at what purpose each serve and why both are necessary.
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Who Has the Final Say About Organ Donation in Idaho?
Often, clients have asked whether this authorization should be in their Last Will and Testament (“Will”). Your Will is a document that is rarely looked at by anyone other than you until after your death – and certainly your doctor or attending health care providers at a hospital are unlikely to have ever read your will.
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WHO HAS THE FINAL SAY ABOUT ORGAN DONATION IN IDAHO?
There are several things I think we should all understand about how Idaho law addresses the issue of organ donation and how we can use our estate planning documents to…
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Follow These 4 Steps to Assess Your Own Estate Planning Documents
Estate planning consist primarily in putting into place those legal documents that each of us need to deal with what happens if we become incapacitated and what happens when we die. If you have estate planning documents in place and have any doubt about whether those documents are complete or up to date, the best thing you could do is bring them to an estate planning attorney to review and discuss with you. Some law firms, like mine, may do this for you without charge as a complimentary consultation. Getting an expert’s advice on the status of your documents is very valuable.
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Last Will & Testament vs. Power of Attorney Documents… and why you need both
So why do we need both documents? Simply because your Will generally has no effect until you are deceased and your Power of Attorney document generally has no effect once you are deceased.
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Uncomfortable Conversations About Estate Planning (Part 2 of 2)
My clients frequently express to me how difficult it can be to speak to their family members about the decisions they have made (or are in the process of making) when we are working on their estate planning documents. Sometimes the issue is that a parent’s adult children refuse to discuss these matters because the children are not willing to acknowledge that their parent will die at some point. Other times the issue is a child that cannot get their parents to acknowledge the need to get their affairs in order. The unique dynamics that every family has can often compound the general problem of one person or the other not wanting to discuss these matters. Last week we examined the first of the two situations I’ve mentioned above. Today, let’s look at some ideas for adult children on how to motivate their parents to get estate planning in order.
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Uncomfortable Conversations About Estate Planning (Part 1 of 2)
My clients frequently express to me how difficult it can be to speak to their family members about the decisions they have made (or are in the process of making) when we are working on their estate planning documents. Sometimes the issue is that a parent’s adult children refuse to discuss these matters because the children are not willing to acknowledge that their parent will die at some point. Other times the issue is a child that cannot get their parents to acknowledge the need to get their affairs in order. The unique dynamics that every family has can often compound the general problem of one person or the other not wanting to discuss these matters. Let’s start this week by looking at the first of the two situations I’ve mentioned above and consider some possible approaches to a potentially very delicate topic. Next Sunday, we will tackle Part 2 of this topic with some ideas for adult children on how to motivate their parents to get their planning in order.
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