{"id":4671,"date":"2015-06-04T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2015-06-04T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=4671"},"modified":"2020-10-13T20:32:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T01:32:18","slug":"legal-documents-everyone-should-have","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/06\/legal-documents-everyone-should-have\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Documents Everyone Should Have"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legal Documents Everyone Should Have\"Legal<\/h1>\n

Everyone knows that they should have a <\/span>will<\/strong>,<\/span> especially by the time you<\/span>\u00a0reach\u00a0you<\/span>r<\/span> \u201cGolden Years,\u201d but what other important legal documents should you have? See below for four essential legal documents everyone should have, plus information on how to get them.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Will<\/span><\/h2>\n

If <\/span>you<\/span> don\u2019t write a will<\/a><\/strong>, then <\/span>you<\/span> are allowing a judge of the probate court to decide how <\/span>y<\/span>our goods will be divided and distributed. He may appoint someone <\/span>you<\/span> <\/span>don’t trust to distribute <\/span>y<\/span>our property after <\/span>y<\/span>our<\/span> death. Estate law is complicated and is different in each state. Writing a will is the best assurance that your desires regarding your property will be respected. If you don\u2019t want to go to an attorney to have your will drawn up, there are online resources such as Nolo<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>or inexpensive software from an office supply store to help you with the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Living Trust<\/h2>\n

But the will is only the beginning of the paperwork you should have ready f<\/span>or end of life planning. People with substantial assets often choose to have a living trust<\/strong> set up. This allows you to bypass the expensive and prolonged process of probate and protects your privacy. A will only takes effect after you die and the will is p<\/span>robated and managed by the executor. The living trust can take effect immediately upon your death without probate, or can take effect if you are incapacitated and unable to manage your financial and legal affairs. The successor trustee manages the living t<\/span>rust instead of an executor, but the roles are basically the same. A living trust is most appropriate for people who have complicated financial or personal circumstances, such as owning a business or owning property in more than one state, or having a blen<\/span>ded family. The fees for setting up a living trust are generally $1000-$3000 per person. If you make a living trust, you still need a will<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Durable Power of Attorney<\/h2>\n

Not everyone needs a living trust but everyone should have advance medical directives including a durable power of <\/strong><\/a><\/span>attorney<\/strong><\/a>. A durable power of attorney goes into effect if you become incapacitated for some reason, whether from an accidental injury, loss of mental capacity or some other reason. A regular power of attorney becomes invalid if the grantor becomes mentally<\/span> incapacitated, so a durable power of attorney is needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

You should carefully choose a trusted friend or family member to be named as agent in the durable power of attorney. You are the \u201cprincipal\u201d in the document. The agent could be your spouse, but you <\/span>may want to name a backup, as your spouse may be in the same condition you are. Generally a person who <\/span>is younger<\/span> is a good choice. This person would take care of paying your bills, and managing your health care and your money if you cannot do it. If you have<\/span> no durable power of attorney and you become incapacitated, your relatives would have to go to court to get the authority to take care of your finances and health care. This is a simple, one-page document and should be made well in advance of possibly need<\/span>ing it. If a person has advanced Alzheimer\u2019s disease, he may not be able to execute a durable power of attorney because he would not be of sound mind. A template for this document is available online from\u00a0Tidy Form<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0or Rocket Lawyer<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Advance Medical Directive<\/h2>\n

An advance medical directive<\/strong><\/a> or advance healthcare directive<\/strong> allows you to name a health care agent (or proxy, representative, surrogate, advocate, or attorney-in-fact, depending on your s<\/span>tate<\/span>) and<\/span> describe the medical treatments you want (or don\u2019t want) to receive. Usually your health care agent is the same person who is your agent in your durable power of attorney. <\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to naming a proxy, you should think about what kind of medic<\/span>al treatment you are willing to undergo. With advances in medicine, doctors can keep people technically alive for a long time. But this does not consider your quality of life. Some people do not want to be kept alive with machines and tubes hanging all ove<\/span>r them. Some prefer not to be kept alive if they are in a coma. Others want to be kept alive at all costs. Whatever your wishes, the advance medical directive is the place to state them. You can download a form appropriate to your state here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legal Documents Everyone Should Have Everyone knows that they should have a will, especially by the time you\u00a0reach\u00a0your \u201cGolden Years,\u201d but what other important legal documents should you have? See below for four essential legal documents everyone should have, plus information on how to get them. 1. Will If you don\u2019t write a will, then you are allowing a judge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2267,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,162],"tags":[191,369,145,165,375],"class_list":{"0":"post-4671","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-families-caregivers","7":"category-retirement-planning","8":"tag-end-of-life-care","9":"tag-living-will","10":"tag-power-of-attorney","11":"tag-retirement-planning-2","12":"tag-will-and-testament"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLegal Documents Everyone Should Have<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Everyone knows that they should have a will, but what other important documents should you have? 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