Blogs from November, 2020

WHAT IF…most of us have thought about a lot of “what ifs” lately. Some of us have been put in situations that we never thought we would be in until the events of 2020. Indeed, many “what ifs” became reality during the COVID crisis. 

Some of our (now) clients, have experienced the need to care for loved ones, but ran into great difficulties making medical and financial decisions.

Below are a few situations clients have run into over the past few months.

WHAT IF: What if your 18-year-old “child” is in the hospital but his physicians won’t let you make decisions for him? 

You may be surprised to know that even if your young adult child is still on your health insurance, he is an adult and as such is protected by medical privacy laws. Doctors shouldn’t and don’t have to communicate with you (the parent) and often you will not be allowed to make medical decisions on his behalf. 

WHAT IF: 

What if you’re in a strict quarantine and you need mortgage refinancing papers signed ASAP? 

WHAT IF:

What if you’re on a ventilator in the ICU and your loved ones need to talk to your physicians? 

WHAT IF:

What if you can’t travel to authorize construction on your rental property across the country?

All of these (and more!) WHAT IF situations are solved by having properly drafted and executed medical and financial power of attorney documents in place.  

What is a financial power of attorney?

A Statutory Durable (Financial) Power of Attorney can be created very broadly or very narrowly to handle any of your personal business or financial concerns. A carefully crafted power of attorney document can even allow your trusted agent to be able to buy and sell real property for you.

What is a medical power of attorney?

We recommend enacting a Combination Medical Directive/Medical Power of Attorney/HIPPA Release. It is a three-part document that can (1) leave instructions for your agents/physicians if you’re unable to speak for yourself and are in an irreversible, terminal condition, (2) name the loved ones that are authorized to speak to your physicians for you if you’re unable to speak for yourself, and (3) authorize those loved ones to get access to your medical records if you’re unable to.

These simple yet powerful documents alleviate some of the stress encountered during times of medical and financial emergencies. Crain & Wooley’s virtual services are ready and able to help you, your family members or friends get these in place – all without leaving the comfort of your home. 

At Crain & Wooley, we instruct our clients to dust off their estate plan and review it once a year to make sure it correctly reflects their wishes. There are many life changes and scenarios where you will need to revoke your will and get a new plan in place. Here are just a few common ones:

1. Divorce – Although the Texas Estates Code states that any provisions for a spouse that you’d divorced before your death are voided, there are a lot of other considerations. Even if the end result is the same, there will be extra time and expense in getting the judge to “fix” the will’s provisions about your ex-spouse. Additionally, a professional estate planning attorney can ensure that your new wishes are carried out in both estate planning documents and in beneficiary designations of your assets.
2. Wishes change – A best case scenario is that your daughter, Janet, wins the lottery and you want to gracefully disinherit her and give your estate to the local animal shelter instead. (Good for Janet and the puppies!) There are a million other scenarios where your wishes change. Maybe your children were minors when you wrote your will, but they’re all grown up and now they’re ready to handle being your executor instead of your sister. Maybe you bought a lake house and want to make sure it stays in the family. Maybe you want to leave a fund specifically for your grandkids’ education. Whatever your wishes are, you have to make sure it’s clearly stated in writing. The courts can’t take “but what he meant to say was . . .” into consideration.
3. Executor dies or is unqualified – Your will should have someone named who you want to be in charge after you die. It also should have at least one backup in case that person predeceases you or is unqualified to serve. If any or all of the executors named in your will are no longer appropriate to serve for any reason, it will make probate a lot easier, faster, and cheaper if you update your will.
4. Children born or adopted – There are very complicated laws that handle what happens when there are no provisions in your will for one of your children, but your will was written before that child was born. Again, it’s best to update your will for the same reasons stated above regarding not relying on the court to adjust your will after your divorce: there is extra time and expense when making adjustments in the court. Depending on your specific family situation, a professional estate planning attorney can make sure that provisions for your children—or potential future children—are written with multiple scenarios in mind.

The absolute best first step in revoking your existing will is to work with a professional estate planning attorney to create a replacement plan. When your “Last Will and Testament” is executed, it literally means that it’s the last one you’ve written (even if you’ve previously created 20 different wills). A well written will should also have language in it reiterating that any previously written wills are revoked. Once we’ve helped you properly execute your new will or, we’ll also advise you to physically destroy your old documents as a triple-check on ensuring there is no confusion as to which will is correct. “Physically destroy” means throwing your old documents in a fire, putting them in a shredder, chaining them to a cinder block and throwing it in the lake, or whatever other way ensures that no one can present it in court.

Has life changed? Do you need to talk with someone about revoking or adjusting a current will? Contact us for a time to talk with one of our attorneys today.