Advance Directives

It’s February already, and today is another gloomy, drizzly day. As I’m writing this, it is getting close to February 28, the day when most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions. How are you doing with those resolutions?  I’m trying to stick with my resolution to go outside every day for 23 minutes, but days like today make it much more difficult to get out the door.
 
One resolution I would urge you to keep, is to get an Advance Directive for Healthcare, or help someone you are caring for complete one. Clients often get stuck because they don’t really know what care they might want at the end of life, or don’t know who should make the decisions about end-of-life care.
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If a person dies without a will, they are said to have died “intestate”.  When that happens, the person’s assets will be passed to the heirs based on the rules that Georgia’s intestate succession rules. 

The probate process for a person who is intestate is called an administration and the person named to take care of your estate after your death is called an administrator.  The administrator will file a petition in the probate court, and once appointed and sworn in by the judge, the administrator will first pay the debts of the estate and then make distributions to the living heirs of the deceased person.

• If you have a spouse but no children, the spouse will get the entire estate; 
• If you have children, but no spouse, your children will divide the estate equally.

While we don’t believe that anyone should panic, we do want to encourage anyone with older or immuno-compromised loved ones to be prepared.

The CDC is encouraging everyone to have extra food and supplies on hand, in the event of sudden closures or quarantines. Please take the time to check on any seniors or people in your life who are ill/disabled to see if they need help getting things together. 

Key items to gather include:

• Prescriptions and any over-the-counter medications

• Those with breathing problems should ensure that any devices they use (nebulizer, oxygen) are working properly and they have enough medication on hand to power any devices.

• A two-week supply of food

• Drinks with electrolytes in the event the flu or another illness is contracted

• Nutrition drinks such as Ensure for seniors

• Lysol, disinfecting agents, and anti-bacterial soap

• Extra toilet paper

• Pet food for at least two weeks

• Adult diapers, feminine products, and any other necessary supplies

Finally, it’s a wise idea to make copies of your loved one’s insurance cards and make sure that you can put your hands on any Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives that would allow you to legally communicate with doctors and make financial and medical decisions on your loved one’s behalf.

My favorite hobby is reading and I try to combine my love of reading with my profession of estate planning.  The plots of some of my favorite books are about dysfunctional family relationships complicated by really bad estate planning!

Here are three books I recommend where siblings were torn apart by their parents’ bad estate planning choices.

The Nest

by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

The four siblings of the Plumb family - Leo, Melody, Beatrice, and Jack- are the beneficiaries of a trust fund they call “The Nest” left to them by their father. The terms of the trust provide that the trust assets will be distributed equally to the four siblings when the youngest, Melody, reaches age 40.

When the book begins, Melody is fast-approaching her 40^th birthday, and each of the siblings is anxiously awaiting the distribution that could solve their self-inflicted life problems.

When nominated to become a surrogate healthcare decision maker for someone, you may be asked to make decisions about what healthcare procedures and care will be appropriate for someone other than yourself. You will only be asked to make healthcare decisions if the person is not able to make or communicate those decisions.  you may have to decide what medical care the person would want without ever having discussed the issue with them.

In general, as a healthcare surrogate you will have the right to:

• Make choices about all medical care for the person, to include surgery, medical tests and pain management.

• Make choices about where the person will receive treatment

• Take legal action in order to have the person’s wishes honored

• Apply for insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid for the person

To help your parents get their affairs in order, you should first make sure that you or someone trustworthy has the legal ability to manage your parent’s affairs.  This article is a guide to the four fundamental legal documents you and your parent may need in order to get financial affairs in order.

How do we decide how we want to be treated at the end of life?

What would a good day look like if you were suffering from a terminal illness?

This is one of the questions Dr. Atul Gawande asks in Being Mortal, Medicine and What Matters in the End, New York: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2014, his book exploring medical treatment at the end of life.

Dr. Gawande looks at how this one question, along with a series of questions most physicians are not asking their patients, might shape the course of medical treatment and care of those who are terminally ill, as well as those frail elderly who are in need of long term care.

In the book, one patient says that he is willing to have medical treatment for his terminal illness so long as the treatment will allow him to eat ice cream and watch football on television.

July is Sandwich Generation Awareness Month.  The Sandwich Generation refers to those people, mostly in their mid-40’s to late 50’s, who are caring for aging parents as well as caring for young children or dependent young adult children.  If you are the meat or peanut butter in that sandwich, you might be looking for help from your siblings or other family members.  One of the best ways to plan the care for an aging or disabled family member is by holding a family meeting.  The meeting is designed to do many things:  get information from the aging or disabled person about their needs, figure out what kind of care is needed and brainstorm about ways to find that care, gauge the financial resources available for care, and assign duties to various family members so that one caregiver does not get burned out.

Are you prepared if a tragedy strikes making you or a loved one go to the hospital?

Fortunately we have the right to make our own decisions when it comes to our healthcare, but what if that ability was taken away? How will you and your loved ones wishes be protected? The solution: Advance Directives.

Advance Directives are legal documents stating your wishes for the doctors and rest of your healthcare team to follow when you are unable to make decisions for yourself. During critical times, these documents can make a world a difference.

In recognition of Advance Directive Day on April 16th, our firm will be hosting a Lunch and Learn.

Lunch will be provided and we are honored to have guest speakers Reverend Ed Hampton and Community Outreach Representative for EverCare Hospice Carol Mullen. We invite anyone to join to learn useful information, resources and receive answers to your questions on the importance of Advance Directives.    

See attached flyer for more details. Lunch provided. RSVP REQUIRED!

Are you prepared if a tragedy strikes making you or a loved one is sent to the hospital? Fortunately we have the right to make our own decisions when it comes to our healthcare, but what if that ability was taken away? How will you and your loved ones wishes be protected? The solution: Advance Directives. Advance Directives are legal documents stating your wishes for the doctors and rest of your healthcare team to follow when you are unable to make decisions for yourself. During critical times, these documents can make a world a difference

To learn more about the importance of an Advance Directive clink on the link below:

http://seniorcarecorner.com/health-care-decisions-dnr-advance-directives

Each year, I make a list of goals that I want to accomplish for the year.  Some years, the goals have a theme – unfortunately, the theme is almost always the same:  lose weight, exercise more…

This year, I’m challenging you to make one of your New Year’s goals to get your estate planning affairs in order.  This is one goal that is easy to accomplish – I promise!

Here are 5 easy steps you can take to accomplish this goal.

1. Get educated about estate planning.  Attend an estate planning workshop or two.