If you’ve ever come across an estate planning seminar, book, or any other type of similar material, you’ve probably noticed that most of the advice contained within is aimed at seniors and married couples. There is very little information out there about how a single person should begin estate planning, or even why a single person needs an estate plan. Though single people are the least likely to have any kind of estate plan, they are in just as much need as their married counterparts. Let’s take a look at why.

Reason 1: Incapacity

If you are injured or fall ill to the extent that you are no longer able to make choices or communicate, this is known as legal incapacity. Someone who is legally incapacitated has to have someone else pointed by a court who can make decisions on that person’s behalf. If you don’t have an estate plan, you have no way of choosing who this person is. On the other hand, you can create an estate plan that will allow you to choose who you wish to serve as your decision-maker.

Reason 2: Guardians

If you’re a single parent, it is even more important for you to create an estate plan because without it you will have no control over who will become your child’s guardian if you should die or become incapacitated. Whether the other parent is involved in the child’s life or not, you have the right to select whom you wish to serve as a guardian should you no longer be able to act as parent.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

People creating an estate plan have to deal with uncomfortable questions of mortality and death. For many, these questions naturally lead to questions of religion, values, and ethics. For the faithful, an estate plan is not merely an exercise in legal formalities, but a way to ensure that your values and religious faith are affirmed and protected after you die. Here are several issues you may want to consider if religious concerns are important to you.

1. Your Representatives

If you name an executor, trustee, or attorney-in-fact, you’ll probably want to nominate someone who shares, or at least respects and understands, your religious and personal values. Your representatives will have key responsibilities and will play a role in your estate and your legacy, so it’s important to choose your representatives carefully.

2. Your Children

If you have young children, your estate plan will name a guardian who will take over parenting in the event you should die. If you want your children to receive specific religious or ethical training, your choice of replacement guardian should be able to impart those values.

3. Your Medical Choices

If you create advance medical directives you’ll want to review them carefully and make sure they account for any religious concerns about medical care. You may also want to consult with a clergy member or religious advisor as you decide what kind of terms to place in your medical directives.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

In New York you can create a health care proxy that allows you to appoint someone else to make medical decisions if you ever lose your ability to do so. The person you appoint becomes your health care agent, and has the legal right to make sure your doctors and health care providers do what you want them to.

Fact 1: You can make one whenever you wish. As long as you are 18 and mentally capable of making decisions, you can create a health care proxy whenever you wish. Of course, you also have to make sure the document meets all legal requirements, such as signing it and having it witnessed by two people.

Fact 2: You are never required to have them. You are never under any obligation to create a health care proxy or any type of living will. Using these documents is important, but it is always voluntary. Further, you must sign your proxy yourself and cannot be forced to make one against your will.

Fact 3: They aren’t just for old people. Though many people believe that only the elderly need a health care proxy, quite the opposite is true. Younger adults, especially those with children, should have a health care proxy as a precaution against accidents or sudden illness. Failing to have one may lead to family conflicts and unnecessary delays or legal expenses. In fact, the New York State Department of Health recommends that everyone 18 or older should appoint a health care agent.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Not only should you ask an attorney to help you draft a health care directive, this directive should be a written document separate and apart from your will. Placing your health care directives in a will does not make practical sense, since your will is typically discovered after your death – not prior to it. Furthermore, your attorney should place your funeral and burial wishes in a separate document for those reasons.

You can take care of your future health care needs, in case of incapacitation, by drafting a health care proxy or living will. Serving two related but also different purposes, these two documents can help you prepare for an unforeseen medical circumstance, a hospitalization, a terminal illness or an incapacitating event. A health care proxy allows you to appoint another adult to make medical decisions on your behalf, in case you are mentally unable to do so.  A living will allows you to make your own decisions regarding the medical procedures you would like, or refuse in case of a mental incapacitation.

A person with a legal appointment to make health care decisions through a health care proxy has specific decision-making powers. You can allow this person to terminate life support, continue life support, or make any other health care decisions if you are unable to do so. Living wills in New York do not have to incorporate standard form language pursuant to any state statute. However, living wills and health care proxies must contain clear and convincing evidence of what your needs were prior to the incapacitating event. In other words, if your health care proxy or living will was not clearly drafted, it is subject to a legal challenge, which is an important reason to obtain legal help in drafting these documents.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When you begin your estate planning, you and your estate planning attorney will need to determine which documents and planning tools you need as part of your individualized, comprehensive estate plan.  Take a look at the following information, to learn about the most commonly used base estate planning documents.  If you have any questions, or if you’d like to begin your estate planning affairs, contact an estate planning attorney.

Most people choose to begin their planning with the use of a will.  This planning document allows you to have control over how your affairs will be handled after your death.  You can appoint a guardian for your children, choose an executor to manage your affairs, and decide how your assets will be distributed to your beneficiaries.  If you want to be in control of these important decisions, then you need a will.

You should also consider creating a living will.  This document allows you to make important end of life medical treatment decisions.  You can choose what medical procedures and treatments that you consent to during incapacity.  This helps to give you control during an end-of-life situation.

You should also consider creating a financial power of attorney and a power of attorney for healthcare.  These documents make it possible to appoint agents who will have the authority to help handle your financial and medical affairs on your behalf, during incapacity.

It’s important to consider the above base estate planning documents so that you have full control over your affairs.  Without the right plan in place, your wishes may not be respected and you may not be able to get the help that you need, when you need it.

If you’re ready to begin your estate planning, consult with a qualified estate planning attorney.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

You need to name back up trusted helpers in your estate planning documents because as life rockets along, people and circumstances change.  For example, the trusted helper you named to raise your minor children may not be able to serve when the time comes.

Jan was a single mom.  She had a great relationship with her only sister, Becca.  So, when Jan had her two children, Elle and Eric, she named Becca as their guardian in her will.  Becca carefully considered the responsibilities and accepted.

Jan died of ovarian cancer about 7 years later.  Becca had died of the same disease just 2 years before, but Jan never updated her will and there was no back up guardian appointed.

If no one stepped forward to take Elle and Eric, they would be placed into foster care.  They would stay in foster care until they each aged out at 18.

If family members do step forward, there is likely to be a battle with life-long scars and anger.  And, the court will decide who will raise the children, not Jan.

Surely, this is not what Jan would have wanted for Elle and Eric.  It all could have been avoided if Jan would have named a back up guardian in her will.  When you consider how this lack of back up guardian will affect Elle and Eric for their lifetimes, you can see the vital importance of estate planning.  Estate planning is not just a pile of papers.

Be sure to name:

• Back up guardians in your will
• Back up executors in your will
• Back up trustees in your trust
• Back up agents under your health care power of attorney
• Back up agents under your financial power of attorney

If you have any questions about how to choose back up trusted helpers, consult with a qualified estate planning attorney.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

For most people, the durable power of attorney is one of the most important estate planning tools available. A power of attorney allows a person of your choosing, known as your proxy or attorney in fact, to act on your behalf for financial purposes if you become incapacitated. It can also be used as a medical power of attorney to appoint someone to make medical decisions on your behalf should you no longer be able to do so on your own. Note that New York State has enacted a Health Care Proxy law that requires a separate document be prepared appointing a proxy as your health care agent.

If you are no longer able to handle your affairs on your own, the person you choose will be able to step in and handle them for you. Without a durable power of attorney, no one can represent you, unless you go through the intrusive process of conservatorship or guardianship. Not only does that court process take time and money, but the control is now out of your hands. In addition, under a guardianship or conservatorship, your representative may have to seek court permission to take planning steps that could be implemented immediately under a properly drafted durable power of attorney.

A power of attorney may be as limited or general in scope as you wish it to be, which is an issue that should be addressed with your estate planning attorney while creating the document. A limited power of attorney may be as specific as to be enacted only during a certain timeframe to sign a document on your behalf, or it may be more general, allowing someone to handle paying bills for you. A general power can be much more comprehensive and gives your attorney-in-fact all the powers and rights that you have yourself.

A power of attorney is classified as either immediate or “springing.” Many powers of attorney take effect immediately upon their execution, even if they will only be used in the event of incapacitation. However, the document also can be written so that it does not become effective until a triggering event, such as an incapacitation, occurs. In this case, it is critical to specify the standard for determining incapacity that triggers the power of attorney.

Work with an estate planning attorney to get this important document in place, and to make sure you have an estate plan created that meets your specific needs and goals.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

In 2010, Governor David Paterson signed into law the Family Health Care Decisions Act. The law allows family members to make health care decisions on behalf of family members who lose their ability to make their own decisions and have not prepared advance medical directives regarding their wishes. Estate planning not only involves creating a will or creating a trust to handle property, but drafting these advance medical directives to state your wishes in the event you are unable to do so on your own.

Should a New Yorker have a health care proxy form and/or a living will, these documents will allow you to still have a say in your health care decisions by appointing someone to act on your behalf or giving your wishes regarding treatment decisions.

The bill sets up an order for who is responsible for such decisions when there are no advance medical directives in place, ranking spouses and domestic partners first in a hierarchy of surrogates (unless there is a court-appointed guardian), followed by children, parents, siblings and close friends. The law also allows the health care proxy or agent, to consider not just the patient’s wishes, but also the patient’s best interests.

Without a law such as the Family Health Care Decisions Act, the common law of New York State provides that life-sustaining treatment may not be withdrawn or withheld from a person who has lost the capacity to make their own decisions, unless ‘clear and convincing’ evidence can be produced to show that the patient would have declined treatment if they had the capacity to do so. An advance directive, such as a living will, a medical power of attorney or a health care proxy, can serve as that clear and convincing evidence of a patient’s wishes, but many people do not prepare these estate planning documents while they are competent to do so.

Estate planning allows you to plan for situations that may come up later in life, such as preparing documents that can take effect in the event of incapacitation. This allows you to maintain control and clarify your wishes, which eases the burden of leaving these decisions in the hands of loved ones or the law.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Are you familiar with a Medical Power of Attorney document? How about a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care? Are they one and the same? The terminology used in law and estate planning can be confusing. Advance medical directives have a number of legal documents with similar names, but different purposes.

First, let’s define Advance Medical Directives, which are documents used in estate planning that allow you to convey your decisions about end-of-life care ahead of time, as well as appoint a health care agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do.

The various documents, their different names and their purpose are outlined below.

Living Will

Also known as a health care declaration, living will, a medical directive or a directive to physicians. This document states your wishes regarding life support and end of life care. It generally takes effect when you can no longer communicate your health care wishes.

Health Care Proxy

Also known as a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, Medical Power of Attorney, a Designation of a Surrogate or a Patient Advocate Designation. This document is used to appoint a health care proxy or health care agent to make medical decisions on your behalf should you lack the capacity to do so on your own.

One would think the terminology within each category above would be interchangeable, but words count when it comes to the law. In New York, a Health Care Proxy Form is used to appoint a health care agent to act on your behalf for medical decisions. A Durable Power of Attorney would be a separate legal document that can achieve other estate planning needs as well, such as appointing someone to handle your finances should you no longer be able to do so on your own.

An estate planning attorney can best advise you on the Advance Medical Directives and estate planning documents that meet your needs.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you are just beginning the estate planning process, you may have seen information advising you to have advance medical directives, which are legal documents that deal with issues relating to treatment preferences, and the designation of a decision-maker should you become unable to make medical decisions on your own.

Often, estate planning information advises you to have a ‘Durable Power of Attorney’ to appoint an ‘agent’ or ‘proxy’ to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to do so on your own. Your proxy may have to make some tough calls, including terminating care and ending life support, should that be in your best interest. In fact, this ‘proxy’ must always act in your best interest, it is part of their duty and responsibility.

In New York State, a Durable Power of Attorney is not used to appoint a health care proxy, as New York has enacted a Health Care Proxy law that requires a separate document be prepared appointing a health care agent.

By using a health care proxy, you ensure that health care providers follow your wishes. Your proxy is tasked with deciding how your wishes apply as your medical condition changes. Hospitals, doctors and other health care providers must follow your proxy’s decisions as if they were your own. It is not required that you give a health care proxy total contol, you may give them as little or as much authority as you wish. Using a health care proxy allows you to maintain control of your health care when you are no longer able to express your wishes.

An estate planning attorney assists you with the legal documents and advice you need to make plans for both the expected and unexpected that occur, and a health care proxy is one of the most important documents to have in an estate plan.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.