How Important Can Estate Planning Documents Be For Your Loved Ones? Don’t Let The Courts Decide Who Will Get Your Assets!
February is often most associated with love, hearts, and Valentine’s Day – it’s lesser known for being American Heart Month – and it’s the perfect time to revisit the importance of estate planning when it comes to preparing your loved ones for the inevitable.
Do you already have estate planning documents? If you do, but it’s been a while since you’ve reviewed or updated them, it may be a good time to visit an attorney to help make sure everything is in order. If you’re new to estate planning , here are the important basic documents you should have prepared to ensure that your wishes are set forth in writing and upheld:
Last Will and Testament
The COVID-19 pandemic generated some of the more recent interest in estate planning, but according to a 2021 Gallup poll, less than 46% of adults in the U.S. have a will, and a majority of those Americans that do are 65 years of age or older. A Last Will and Testament is a legal outline of how you would like your assets to be distributed at the time of your death. If you have minor children, you may use a will to name a guardian for them. The will also names a person of your choice to be executor or executrix of your estate to handle your affairs when you die.
Without a will, those important decisions will be left to a court to decide. That means that here in Ohio, the state would decide how your assets would be distributed, and an administrator would need to be appointed. It’s also likely that court-approval would be needed at each step of handling your estate.
Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney
A living will and durable power of attorney for health care establish your preferences for medical treatment when you are unable to make those decisions for yourself.
According to another Gallup poll, around the same percentage of U.S. adults have a living will prepared – fewer than 46%, though that number is higher than it has been in recent years.
As discussed in our post from December 2020, “The Importance of Ohio Health Care Documents During the Coronavirus Pandemic“, a living will determines your preference for maintaining life support for yourself if you’re in a scenario where you cannot communicate your wishes to your doctor, and “you are terminally ill or in a permanently unconscious state”.
For Other Health Care-Related Decisions, Use a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney
A living will only covers health care decisions regarding life support, but you can name a Durable Health care Power of Attorney (POA) to make other health care-related decisions if you become unable to do so for yourself.
Contrary to popular belief, in the state of Ohio, being married or related to someone does not automatically give you any power to make healthcare decisions for them if they become unable to do so. That is why having a health care power of attorney is important. It is a written legal document that you can have prepared when you have the mental capacity to do so, giving a grantor full power to make important decisions regarding your health when you become unable to do so.
As discussed in that same blog post from December 2020: “The grantee is directed to make health care decisions that are consistent with the grantor’s desires as stated in the document or otherwise made known to the agent, or if those desires have not been made known, to make decisions that are, in the judgment of the agent, in the grantor’s best interest”.
If you don’t have a living will prepared, the health care POA would make the decision regarding life support.
General Durable Power of Attorney
In Ohio, there is a separate document for a durable financial power of attorney, which would grant the power for someone to make any financial decisions and/or legal decisions, i.e. make sure your bills are paid, if you become incapacitated. Should you become incapacitated or incompetent, if you do not already have a power of attorney in place, the only way someone wil be able to assist in your financial and/or legal affairs will be to petition the probate court to appoint them as a guardian over you and your affairs. This is an expensive and time-consuming process.
It’s important to understand what estate planning documents are available and appropriate for you, and why they are beneficial when it comes to making sure you and your family are prepared for any scenario that life may bring, and that your decisions with your life and your assets are followed.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: I want to thank Kaylyn Hohn for her help researching and writing this estate planning blog article. She is our newest paralegal at HCM&M and is doing excellent work! Thanks again Kaylyn!
Need Estate Planning Documents? Schedule An Appointment:
At Holzfaster, Cecil, McKnight & Mues, located in Dayton, Ohio, top-notch estate planning doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive! To learn more, go to our website at www.hcmmlaw.com. Or, please contact us at 937 293-2141 to schedule an appointment for an initial consultation which can be conducted either by phone, Zoom, or in person.
© 2022, Ohio Family Law Blog. All rights reserved.
Joseph Balmer manages the Probate, Trust and Estate Administration department at Dayton, Ohio, law firm, Holzfaster, Cecil, McKnight & Mues, and has been certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law since 2006.
