Tag: Estate Planning

Protect Your Graduate with Estate Planning Documents

Posted by Patrick Furman on

Some may feel that estate planning is only for the rich and retired. That is simply untrue. Regardless of the amount of assets, or age, it is important that all adults have an estate plan.

The law says that kids become legal adults the day they turn 18.  Yes, they can vote…but what else? It also means that when a child turns 18, parents no longer have the authority to make health care and financial decisions for the child without written legal authorization.

Imagine being a parent of an 18 year-old.  Now imagine that the child is in the hospital due to an emergency situation. Without the proper planning, doctors are unable to share information with you.

Imagine your 18 year-old is a victim of fraudulent use of their credit card.  As the parent, since your child is a legal adult, banks will not communicate with you about this.

So what is the solution?

Together, parents and children should review and discuss several important legal documents with the understanding that it’s the child’s right to decide how to proceed. Important documents to review include:

  • Medical Power of Attorney – Gives parents the authority to make medical decisions on a child’s behalf if the child is unable to do so.
  • Living Will – States a person’s wishes about life-extending medical treatment.
  • HIPAA Release –Allows heath care providers to release medical information to designated people.
  • Durable Power of Attorney – Grants parents the authority to sign documents for their child. For example, this allows a parent to manage financial accounts or file a tax return on behalf of the child.

Without these documents, you will need to go to court to act on behalf of your child.

Estate Planning is Not a DIY Project

Posted by Patrick Furman on with 0 Comment

So if you are like me, you take pride in completing a DIY project. Even though I feel a sense of satisfaction when I complete a project, I’ve learned over the years that there is a time and a place for DIY projects and a time for professionals to be called. Often, the risks of incorrectly doing a project outweigh the costs of calling a professional. This holds true for estate planning as well.

Some people think Estate Planning can be a DIY project. These people find online tools and services to complete estate planning documents.  By attempting to use a DIY estate planning tool, people can end up causing more problems.

Over the years, I have helped people who come in after they realized there were problems with their DIY estate planning documents. Some of the problems these DIYers experienced include:

  • Institutions did not accept their DIY power of attorney
  • The online forms were not in sync with Wisconsin laws.
  • Errors were made because they misinterpreted the online forms
  • Unintentionally disinherited assets

These problems ended up costing the DIYers and their beneficiaries more time and money than it would have if they called a professional in the first place. These issues may have been avoided by speaking with an experienced Estate Planning Attorney up front. The role of an Estate Planning Attorney is to be a counselor in explaining your different options and pointing out some of the pitfalls that may be lurking. Computer generated forms are simply not comparable to the customized service and advice that an Estate Planning Attorney can provide.