Estate Planning During a Pandemic

If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear, it’s the need for comprehensive estate planning. Few people could have predicted how the world would turn upside down in 2020, let alone the massive death toll across the world. It’s always smart to have your affairs in order—even if your family has escaped the pandemic unscathed, life holds no guarantees. Working with an estate planning attorney in Sunset, FL is the best way to ensure your loved ones will be taken care of no matter what happens.

Living wills

One of the biggest things the pandemic has reminded us to do is make our healthcare wishes clear. Do your loved ones know what you’d want to happen if you were unable to advocate for yourself? Even if you think they do, are you absolutely positive? A living will can help you document exactly what you’d want—whether you’d want to artificially prolong your life, even against medical recommendations, or if you don’t want to be resuscitated. This is a kindness to your family, who shouldn’t have to wonder what you’d really want during a serious and stressful situation.

Powers of attorney

Appointing medical and financial powers of attorney is another way you can have your needs taken care of when you’re unable to do so yourself. A medical power of attorney is someone of your choosing who is authorized to make medical decisions on your behalf. In other words, if you’re intubated or in a coma, they can tell the doctors what you would want—especially if you’ve laid out your wishes in a living will.

A financial power of attorney is someone who can make financial decisions on your behalf, such as paying bills, withdrawing funds from your accounts to pay for expenses and more. This also applies if you’re traveling out of the country and need someone to oversee your affairs for a temporary period.

Writing a will

When it comes to disposing of your property, wills are the most common way to express your wishes. You can name someone to care for your minor children, determine who gets your assets and name an executor, who will be in charge of making sure your final wishes are carried out. However, anything disposed of in a will needs to go through probate, which can be an expensive and time-consuming process.

Establishing trusts

Trusts are a good way to transfer assets without having to go through probate. Many people take the opportunity to create trusts for real estate and other assets, so they will automatically pass to the beneficiaries upon their death. However, they can be complicated to establish—and have very specific rules—so you’ll need to work with an attorney to set them up.

Working with an attorney for your wills and trusts in Miami, FL is the best way to ensure your end-of-life wishes are honored. If you need help planning your estate, call the office of Ruben J. Padron, PA today to arrange a consultation.

Categorised in: Estate Planning