Life and Estate Planning Questions

By “Estate Planning” we mean the completion of legal documents to get all your “affairs in order.” It’s not merely about “death and taxes.” It’s about life and living and carrying out your instructions put in legally binding documents. The simple fact it is good to have your all of your affairs in order. Here is a quick overview of the basic legal documents you should consider.

General Durable Power of Attorney

By a general power of attorney you grant legal authority to a chosen “agent” to take care of your financial matters if you are unable to do so. For example, what if you are on a vacation and you get a call that your home is damaged by severe weather? You would want a family member to have the legal authority to handle matters until your return. This authority is granted through a document known as a power of attorney, which means they can legally act for you. Durable means your agent has the authority to act even if you are “incapacitated.”

Michigan has adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. It is codified at Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) Section 556.205. You may find a form completion tool, courtesy of the Cooley Law School here. You can see that the decision to give somebody power to act for you is a very serious matter. We suggest that you consult with an Elder Law Attorney.

Medical / Healthcare Durable Power of Attorney

The medical field is extensively regulated and involves our most private matters. Your Healthcare Power of Attorney gives you agent to act for you. Your agent must have “HIPAA” authority which means your agent may receive confidential medical information. Your healthcare power of attorney should include a “Designation of Patient Advocate” give your agent the authority to make medical decisions for you when you are unable. We recommend that your power of attorney should also include a Living Will, known in Michigan as an Advance Directive. Courtesy of the Cooley Law School you may find a form here

Will

It goes without saying that you should have a Will by which you direct who gets your property upon death. A will is only legally binding after it is accepted in into probate by the Probate Court. Interested persons can challenge the validity of a Will. When that happens the Probate Court must determine whether the objections have legal merit.

Revocable Living Trust

We will assume you have a basic knowledge of a trust. It is a legal arrangement by which property is managed by the “trustee.” once it is transferred from our name to our trust. Revocable means we have retain the ability to cancel the arrangement and have our property transferred back to our name. Living means the trust was created during our lifetime. If we become incapacitated our successor trustee will mange the trust property by the terms we spelled out in the trust. Upon our death our successor trustee will distribute trust property outright or will retain it for the benefit of trust beneficiaries. In this way we can spell out the terms of care for our disabled beneficiaries.

Medicaid (nursing home)

A necessary part of Elder Law estate planning is consideration of long term care. Are you concerned that you or your spouse may need to go to a nursing home? A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) will protect your property or “assets” from being completely spent at a nursing home. The tax dollars you have paid all your working life is what funds the Medicaid program. Upon your death your MAPT will distribute your assets to chosen beneficiaries. .

Estate Plan Questions