Estate planning is a comprehensive undertaking, partly because it encompasses so many areas of your life. While you’re thinking of how you’re going to handle your assets, you also need to consider making plans for how things will be taken care of if you become incapacitated.
Incapacity planning gives you a chance to have a say in your medical care and finances if you can’t make decisions on your own. Incapacity can occur because of illness, injury, cognitive decline or another medical condition, all of which can arise quickly after an accident or after a difficult diagnosis.
Why is incapacity planning important?
Incapacity planning takes away a lot of the uncertainty that your family would face if you’re incapacitated. It should include documents that name someone to make decisions for your health care and someone to take care of your finances. You can give both duties to the same person, but that’s not required. The person or persons you name in these documents will have power of attorney over the areas you choose.
What else is required besides power of attorney?
Besides the power of attorney, you should also write out an advance directive, which is a set of instructions that outline what medical decisions you’ve already made. This can include things like your acceptance or refusal of artificial nutrition or resuscitation, as well as any other interventions.
Once you decide on the incapacity plan, you should speak to your loved ones about it. This gives them the chance to get clarification about your wishes. Working with someone familiar with incapacity and estate planning may be beneficial.
