Estate Planning Basics

A good estate plan helps protects your family and your property when you die or become incapacitated. Planning your estate generally includes: deciding who will get your things when you die, naming an executor to wrap up your affairs, naming guardians for your children and their property, avoiding probate, or preparing for a time when you may not be able to make your own financial or medical decisions.

To accomplish these goals, you may need a will, living trust, a living will, and powers of attorney. You probably won’t need all of these documents, and you may be able to make some or all of them yourself, without a lawyer. There is software available that can take care of all of these for you.

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Creating A Living Will: A Healthcare Directive

A living will is a legal document that a person uses to make known his or her wishes regarding life prolonging medical treatments. It can also be referred to as an advance directive, health care directive, or a physician's directive. A living will should not be confused with a living trust, which is a mechanism for holding and distributing a person's assets to avoid probate. It is important to have a living will as it informs your health care providers and your family about your desires for medical treatment in the event you are not able to speak for yourself.

Generally, a living will describes certain life prolonging treatments. You, the declarant, indicate which treatments you do or do not want applied to you in the event you either suffer from a terminal illness or are in a permanent vegetative state. A living will does not become effective unless you are incapacitated; until then you'll be able to say what treatments you do or don't want.

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