Schools Out For Summer

Schools Out For Summer. If you are able to say that without singing Alice Cooper's version, you are a better man than I.

It is the three (3) months of the year that college kids get into a little (or a lot) of trouble. No real responsibilities, young summer love, and lots of traveling.

Since you can't stop your 'children' from making bad decisions, make sure they are prepared in case they do.

If you have 'children' between the ages of 18 and 24 make sure they have a Durable Power of Attorney, Healthcare Surrogate and Living Will prepared in case of an emergency. Without these documents, parents and loved ones are helpless.

Durable Power of Attorney:

Name someone to manage your financial affairs either immediately or in the future should you lack the capacity to do so yourself.

Healthcare Surrogate:

Name someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make them yourself.

“Since you can’t stop your ‘children’ from making bad decisions, make sure they are prepared in case they do.”

Living Will:

Document that will state how and if you want to prolong your life if you fall into a vegetative state. 

If you live in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach contact an experienced estate-planning attorney at The Hershey Law Firm, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at (954) 303-9468 to discuss your estate planning needs. You can’t predict the future, but you can plan for it.

Who Needs to Know About Your Living Will?

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Some things are better left unknown for those who were not involved.  That saying does not ring true for estate planning. In Florida, if you have decided to prepare for your passing and plan to have a living will drafted, who should know?

A living will is pointless if no one knows that it exists. You should be proud of yourself for not procrastinating and properly planning. However, if the appropriate parties are unaware of the existence of the living will, it’s just as good as never being drafted at all.

In order for loved ones and physicians to know your decisions concerning medical treatments in South Florida you will need to follow these 5 steps to create an effective living will.

“A living will is pointless if no one knows that it exists. ”

(1)Appoint a health care agent: Appoint someone as your healthcare agent with a durable power of attorney known as a Designation of Health Care Surrogate.  Your agent will have the legal authority to make health care decisions for you if you are no longer able to speak for yourself.

(2) Attach a signed HIPAA release form: You must provide your health care provider with a signed HIPAA release form so that he can discuss your medical information with your agent. It is suggested to provide a release form to all of your physicians and insurance carrier.

(3) Draft Instructions for health care:  Write instructions for your future health care outlining your wishes about life sustaining medical treatment in the event you can no longer speak for yourself. Your agent will be dictated to implement your written instructions.

(4) Revise: Written instructions must be absolutely clear to be enforceable.  Your written instructions must clearly answer the question about life-sustaining care.

(5) Notify your attending physician: Once your living will is drafted, it’s your responsibility to notify your physician that you have one. It is also important to discuss your health care desires with your physician. He or she is likely to honor requests that have been communicated to him or her directly.

Take charge of your last living decisions and plan ahead! An experienced South Florida estate-planning attorney will help ensure that the actual instructions for your wishes are stated accurately. For more information on successful Florida estate planning, please contact The Hershey Law Firm PA at (954) 303-9468 to schedule your free consultation.

Am I Too Young To Think About Estate Planning?

What makes humans different from other animals is that we know we are going to die. That knowledge gives us the incentive to make the most of the time we have and prepare accordingly for when our time comes.

There is no way to know when we are going to die. Young people assume they will wake up every morning, whereas old people are surprised each morning they wake up.

No one can honestly say they “enjoy” talking about their final days on this earth. However, it is a conversation that should be held between a husband and wife.  If you are not married, it is a conversation you should have with close family members and friends.

Estate planning is more  important for younger families with minor children.  You need to pre-plan and protect your surviving spouse along with appointing a guardian for your children. For example, a wife is the bread winner and the husband is  a “stay at home dad”. If husband and wife do not plan for death, and the wife dies, now the husband will have to go back to work and possibly find alternative living arrangements.

There are number of vehicles used with estate planning to protect both your assets and your wishes at your time of death: 

Revocable Trust(living trust): Allows you to control and manage assets in your trust while you are alive.

Living Will and Healthcare Surrogate- Will allow you to designate who will make medical decisions when you are unable to do so yourself.

Assignment of Property: Assign your property into your trust (real and personal property) to protect your assets.

Durable Power of Attorney: Designate and authorize someone to legally act on your behalf in the event you become incapacitated.

Last Will and Testament: Used upon death to distribute property to beneficiaries, specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.

“There is no way to know when we are going to die. Young people assume they will wake up every morning, whereas old people are surprised each morning they wake up.”

With the expertise of a South Florida estate planning attorney, you can start the process of thinking about what is important to you and how you would like protect your family and assets for the future. 

Fore more information on successful South Florida estate planning, please contact The Hershey Law Firm, PA in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at (954) 303-9468 to schedule your free consultation.  

Who Can Make Decisions For Me If I Become Incapacitated?

As a child, we are told to do this and do that. All children say “I can do it myself”

If all you wanted when you were a child was to be an adult to make your own decisions, why would you allow yourself to be placed in that same situation again as an adult?  Do you really want someone else to decide the most important decision you will ever be faced with? If you become incapacitated, do you want someone else to decide when to “pull the plug” or “take out the feeding tube”?

“The last thing families should deal with at such a difficult time is inner family fighting over your last wishes.”

A very famous Florida case lasting from 1990-2005 was the Terri Schiavo case. The issue was whether to carry out the decision of her husband, to terminate life support for his wife or follow the wishes of her parents.  Terri collapsed at home in full cardiac arrest and suffered massive brain damage due to lack of oxygen. After 2.5 months Terri was diagnosed by doctors as being in a “persistent vegetative state”. The case was highly publicized and prolonged by court appeals and multiple denials by the Supreme Court of the United States.  Terri’s life was prolonged for years due to the fact that her wishes were unknown. 

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Without proper planning your ultimate last wishes will be unknown. You can have conversations with your spouse, your children, family members and close friends. However, unless there is something written on paper, your wishes will go unheard. The last thing families should deal with at such a difficult time is inner family fighting over your last wishes.

There are a number of documents that will state exactly what a person wants when they become incapacitated.

Durable Power of Attorney: This document will state who will be in charge of financial decisions on your behalf.

Healthcare Surrogate: This document will direct who will make healthcare decisions (ie. If you get into a car accident and are not conscious to decide if you should get surgery)

HIPPA Release: This will allow the individual you choose to view your medical records. Even married couples cannot view their spouse’s medical records (MRI, Xray, etc) without a HIPPA release.

Living Will (Advanced Directive): This form of “will” is to be used while an individual is still alive (but no longer able to make decisions) hence the term “living will”.

This document will state how and if you want to prolong your life if you fall into a vegetative state.  You can state if you wish to be placed on life support, if so, for how long and at what point to “pull the plug”. You can also state if you wish to receive a feeding tube and when you wish to take it out.

Without the use of the (1) Durable Power of Attorney, (2) Healthcare Surrogate, (3) HIPPA Release, and (4) Living Will, your wishes will not be heard.  Do not let someone else direct your life when it matters most.

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Take charge of your last living decisions and plan ahead! For more information on successful Florida estate planning, please contact The Hershey Law Firm PA at (954) 303-9468 to schedule your free consultation.