Estate planning is mostly about putting mechanisms in place to ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes once you are gone. Yet there is another aspect to the process that centers on appointing others to manage your affairs during your lifetime.
- What would happen if you became incapacitated and couldn’t handle your financial affairs?
- Who would act on your behalf to pay bills, watch over investments and deal with the paperwork that accompanies collecting insurance and other benefits?
- Or, who would make arrangements for your medical care and see that your wishes for treatment were carried out?
Without advance planning, a court would make these critical — and highly personal — decisions for you.
Fortunately, you can work with an attorney to make arrangements that allow your affairs to be managed by people you choose and make sure your loved ones aren’t burdened with any more than they need to be. […]
