Prepare for Unexpected Medical Events with Estate Planning

August 28, 2024

Estate planning is more than the distribution of property after a person dies. You can prepare for unexpected medical events with estate planning. In fact, a large part of an estate planning attorney’s practice concerns helping people prepare for the unexpected. A recent article from Merrill Foto News, “Know Your Legal Rights: Advance Care Planning Paves The Way For Future Medical Decisions,” explains what steps should be taken.

Anyone over 18 should have certain advance care plan documents in place, although these documents become even more critical as one reaches their later years. People who have been admitted to the hospital for emergency care, treatment for illness, or surgery all need someone else to speak with medical personnel on their behalf.

Having an Advance Directive, which is also known as Health Care Power of Attorney in some states, is necessary for another person to be able to be involved with your medical care. The healthcare law has become very restrictive, and simply being a person’s spouse or child may not be enough to allow you to make critical decisions on their behalf.

It’s best to name two people as your health care power of attorney—a primary and a backup in case the primary is unable or unwilling to act. If you and your spouse are both in a car accident, for instance, you’ll need someone else to advocate for both of you.

Who to name as your agent depends upon your situation. If your adult children live nearby, one of them may be the best choice if they can be counted on to follow your wishes. If no family is nearby, naming a trusted friend may work, unless you and the friend are both elderly. What would happen if your friend predeceased you or was unable to come to the hospital in the middle of the night? Your estate planning attorney can discuss your situation and help you determine the best candidates.

While many fill-in-the-blank Health Care Power of Attorney documents are available, it’s best to have one prepared by an estate planning attorney to reflect your wishes.

Your feelings about artificial life support also may have changed. Before COVID, people often said they didn’t want to be put on a respirator. However, respirators now save lives. Your wishes to be kept alive in the presence of different kinds of medical evidence may have changed from ten years ago. What if your heart is still working and a brain scan shows evidence of mental activities? Progress in medicine has led to more complex questions and answers about patients’ prognoses; you want a healthcare power of attorney document to reflect your wishes, given advances in medicine today.

Your feelings about healthcare decisions may have changed over time, so healthcare directives and an estate plan should be updated similarly to reflect changes in your life and circumstances. An estate planning attorney will help you and your family prepare for unexpected medical events with sound, comprehensive estate planning. If you would like to learn more about dealing with medical issues in your planning, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Merrill Foto News (July 25, 2024) “Know Your Legal Rights: Advance Care Planning Paves The Way For Future Medical Decisions”

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The Estate of The Union Season 3|Episode 10

The Estate of The Union Season 3|Episode 4 is out now!

April 30, 2024

The Estate of The Union Season 3|Episode 4 is out now! It surprises some people to discover that the mortality rate in Texas and the USA and the world for that matter is 100%! None of us are getting out of here alive. How we leave this planet can sometimes be determined by how we want to.

While many people die suddenly, many others linger. And the prolonged dying process is where Hospice Austin come into play. We are privileged to have Keisha Jones, the Director of In-Patient Services at Hospice Austin share with us a “better way to die.”

While there are many for profit hospices, and an article in a recent edition of Scientific American highlighted that Hedge Funds are buying up hospices nationwide, Hospice Austin is the only non-profit one in this area. Keisha shares her unique insights into the dying process and gives hope, and we are very thankful for her allowing us to interview her.

To learn more about the incredibly valuable work that Hospice Austin does for the community, please visit their website: www.hospiceaustin.org

In each episode of The Estate of The Union podcast, host and lawyer Brad Wiewel will give valuable insights into the confusing world of estate planning, making an often daunting subject easier to understand. It is Estate Planning Made Simple! The Estate of The Union Season 3|Episode 4 is out now! The episode can be found on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts. If you would prefer to watch the video version, please visit our YouTube page. Please click on the links to listen to or watch the new installment of The Estate of The Union podcast. We hope you enjoy it.

Texas Trust Law focuses its practice exclusively in the area of wills, probate, estate planning, asset protection, and special needs planning. Brad Wiewel is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. We provide estate planning services, asset protection planning, business planning, and retirement exit strategies.

Living Will and DNR are different Documents

August 17, 2022

A living will and a Do Not Resuscitate Order, known as a DNR, are very different documents. However, many people confuse the two. They both address end of life issues and are used in different settings, according to the article “One Senior Place: Know the difference between ‘living will’ and ‘do not resuscitate’” from Florida Today.

What is a Living Will?

A living will is a written statement describing a person’s wishes about receiving life-sustaining medical treatment in case of a terminal illness if they are a patient near death or in a persistent vegetative state. This includes choices such as whether to continue the use of artificial respiration, a feeding tube and other highly intensive means of keeping a person alive.

The living will is used to make your wishes clear to loved ones and to physicians. It is prepared by an estate planning elder care attorney, often when having an estate plan created or updated. To ensure it is valid and the instructions can be carried out, be sure to have this document created properly.

What is a DNR?

A DNR is a medical directive used to convey wishes to not be resuscitated in the event of respiratory or cardiac arrest. This document needs to be signed by both the patient and their treating physician. It’s often printed on brightly colored paper, so it can be easily found in an emergency.

The DNR should be placed in a location where it can be easily and quickly found. In nursing homes, this is typically at the head or foot of the bed. At home, it’s often posted on the refrigerator.

The DNR needs to be immediately available to ensure that the patient’s last wishes are honored.

A key mistake made by well-meaning family members is to have the DNR with someone else, rather than at home or at the bedside of the patient. If the DNR cannot be found and emergency medical responders arrive on scene, they are legally bound to provide CPR or other medical care to revive the patient.

When the DNR is available, the emergency responders will not initiate CPR if they find the patient in cardiopulmonary arrest or respiratory arrest. They may instead provide comfort care, including administering oxygen and pain management.

If a person is admitted to the hospital, their living will is placed on the chart. Depending on the state’s laws, a certain number of physicians must agree the patient is in a persistent vegetative state or has an end-state condition and can no longer communicate. At that point, the terms of the living will are followed.

In addition to having these documents created with your estate plan, make sure that family members know where they can be found. A living will and a DNR are different documents and your estate planning attorney can help you address which is the best option for your current situation. If you would like to learn more about living wills, DNRs and other medical directives, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Florida Today (July 19, 2022) “One Senior Place: Know the difference between ‘living will’ and ‘do not resuscitate’”

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Documents You need if You become Incapacitated

May 26, 2022

There are documents you need if you become incapacitated. If advance planning has been done, your family will have the legal documents you need. Just as importantly, they will know what your wishes are for incapacity and end-of-life care. If there was no planning, your loved ones will have to start with a lengthy application to the court to have someone named a guardian. They are a person who has legal authority to make medical decisions on your behalf.

Having a plan in place beforehand is always better, explains the article “If I become incapacitated, who makes healthcare decisions?” from Waterdown Daily Times.

Another reason to have these documents if you become incapacitated: the court does not require the guardian to be a family member. Anyone can request a guardian to be appointed for another incapacitated individual, whether incapacity is a result of illness or injury. If no planning has been done, a guardianship must be established.

This is not an easy or inexpensive process. A petition must be filed, and the person in question must be legally declared incapacitated. In some cases, these filings are done secretly, and a guardianship maybe established without the person or their family even knowing it has occurred.

There are also many cases where one family member believes they are better suited for the task, and the family becomes embroiled in controversy about who should serve as the guardian.

The entire problem can be resolved by working with an experienced estate planning attorney long before incapacity becomes an issue. A comprehensive estate plan will include a plan for distribution of assets (Last Will and Testament), Power of Attorney, Healthcare Power of Attorney and a Living Will.

These last two documents work together to describe your wishes for end-of-life care, medical treatment and any other medical issues you would want conveyed to healthcare providers.

Unfortunately, the pandemic revealed just how important it is to have these matters taken care of. If you did create these documents in the last few years, it would be wise to review them, since the people in key roles may have changed. While the idea of being on a respirator may have at one time been a clear and firm no, you may feel otherwise now.

A Healthcare Power of Attorney is an advance directive used to name a person, who becomes your “agent,” to make healthcare decisions. If there is no Healthcare Power of Attorney, physicians will ask a family member to make a decision. If no family can be reached in a timely manner, the court may be asked to appoint a legal guardian to be the decision-maker. In an urgent situation, the physician will have to make the decision, and it may not be the decision you wanted.

The Living Will explains your wishes for end-of-life care. For instance, if you become seriously ill and don’t want a feeding tube or artificial heart machine, you can say so in this document. You can even state who you do and do not wish to visit you when you are sick.

The best advice if you become incapacitated is to have a complete estate plan, including these vital documents you need, created by an experienced estate planning attorney. If you have an estate plan and have not reviewed it in the past three to five years, a review would be best for you and your loved ones. If you would like to learn more about powers of attorney, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Watertown Daily Times (April 14, 2022) “If I become incapacitated, who makes healthcare decisions?”

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Have a Plan before You become Incapacitated

May 24, 2022

No one plans to be incapacitated, but life can – and often does – throw you a curve ball. Have a plan in place before you become incapacitated. If you became incapacitated and advance planning had been done, your family will have the legal documents you need. Just as importantly, they will know what your wishes are for incapacity and end-of-life care. If there was no planning, your loved ones will have to start with a lengthy application to the court to have someone named a guardian. They are a person who has legal authority to make medical decisions on your behalf.

Having a plan in place beforehand is always better, explains the article “If I become incapacitated, who makes healthcare decisions?” from Waterdown Daily Times.

Another reason to plan ahead: the court does not require the guardian to be a family member. Anyone can request a guardian to be appointed for another incapacitated individual, whether incapacity is a result of illness or injury. If no planning has been done, a guardianship must be established.

There are also many cases where one family member believes they are better suited for the task, and the family becomes embroiled in controversy about who should serve as the guardian.

These last two documents work together to describe your wishes for end-of-life care, medical treatment and any other medical issues you would want conveyed to healthcare providers.

The best advice is to have a plan in place, before you become incapacitated that is created by an experienced estate planning attorney. If you have an estate plan and have not reviewed it in the past three to five years, a review would be best for you and your loved ones. If you would like to read more about other important healthcare decisions, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Watertown Daily Times (April 14, 2022) “If I become incapacitated, who makes healthcare decisions?”

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

Caring for sick Parent can be Challenging

March 24, 2022

Caring for a sick parent can be challenging and emotional time. It’s not uncommon for adult children to have to face a parent’s decline and a stay in hospice at the end of their life. The children are tasked with trying to prepare for his passing. This includes how to handle his financial matters.

Seniors Matter’s recent article entitled “How do I handle my father’s financial matters now that he’s in hospice?” says that because of this major task, it is easy to put financial considerations on the back burner. Nonetheless, it is important to address a few key issues with your family.

If a family member is terminally ill or admitted to hospice – and you are able to do so – it may be a good idea to start by helping to take inventory of your family member’s assets and liabilities. A clear idea of where their assets are and what they have is a great starting point to help you prepare and be in a better position to manage the estate.

An inventory may include any and all of the following:

Real estate
Bank accounts
Cars, boats and other vehicles
Stocks and bonds
Life insurance
Retirement plans (such as a 401(k), a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA and a SEP IRA);
Wages and other income
Business interests
Intellectual property; and
Any debts, liabilities and judgments.

Next, find out what, if any, estate planning documents may be in place. This includes a will, powers of attorney, trusts, a healthcare directive and a living will. You will need to find copies.

Caring for a sick parent while also managing their financial affairs can be challenging, but it can make the aftermath easier and less stressful for you and your family. If you are interested in reading more about elder care issues, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Seniors Matter (Feb. 22, 2022) “How do I handle my father’s financial matters now that he’s in hospice?”

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Category: Hospice

Prepare for Unexpected Medical Events with Estate Planning

The Estate of The Union Season 3|Episode 4 is out now!

Living Will and DNR are different Documents

Documents You need if You become Incapacitated

Have a Plan before You become Incapacitated

Caring for sick Parent can be Challenging

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