LIFE PLANNING

Protecting You and Your Family with Life Planning

Not every estate plan will address the concerns necessary to protect both you and your loved ones while you are alive.  In addition to assisting our clients in giving what they have to whom they want, the way they want and when they want after they pass, we also help control and protect our client’s property while they are alive and help them take care of themselves and their loved ones if they become disabled.

Preparing in the Event You Become Disabled or Incapacitated

Health Care

There exists numerous life planning tools at your disposal to prepare for the possibility that you may become disabled or incapacitated.  Statistically, four out of every ten individuals will be disabled after age 65 before the event of their death.  This makes it absolutely critical that you prepare for the risk that you may become incapacitated.  However, traditional estate planning often does little to address the concerns arising for families due to a loved one’s disability.

For example, one of the first issues surrounding your incapacitation is the determination of whether you are in fact mentally disabled.  Absent a plan in place, your mental state could be determined by strangers wholly unfamiliar with your medical history and family.  Using proper life planning techniques, we can put the control in your hands, allowing you to select, in advance, a panel of people who will determine if you have become incapacitated.  These individuals can then be charged with making the tough decisions you have instructed them to make.

Of equal importance is the appointment of someone whom you trust to make medical decisions concerning your care when you are unable to do so due to disability or medical emergency.  A life planning attorney can work with you to create the health care documents necessary to ensure loved ones will be able to sign medical consent forms, select doctors, arrange for organ donation, access your medical records and make all other medical decisions on your behalf.    We also offer our clients a wallet sized card from Legal Directives (www.legaldirectives.com) that lists your health care information and emergency contacts so first responders can contact your loved ones in case of an emergency.  The Legal Directives system provides “cloud” based, secure storage of your health care documents accessible by any health care provider.

Finances

In addition to health care decisions, it is important to appoint someone whom you trust to make financial decisions on your behalf in the event you become incapacitated.  Without these tools in place, a loved one will be required to petition the court to appoint a guardian or conservator, which is a lengthy, unpleasant process.

The Sullivan Firm Offers Advanced Solutions for Your Life Planning Needs

Life planning is a broad and complex area of estate planning.  Proper life planning can save your family from much heartache and remove any uncertainty concerning your future care. You can reach The Sullivan Firm at (978) 325-2721. Click here to download a gift certificate good for one initial consultation with a trusted estate planning attorney (a $350 value).  We offer initial consultations at both our Gloucester and Rockport offices.