• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • About Our Firm
    • Career Opportunities
    • Meet Our Team
    • News and Events
    • Seniors Rock Radio
  • Estate Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Planning
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Family Farm Succession Planning
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • IRA Planning
      • Planning With An IRA
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning Services
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Young Families
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Elder Law Reports
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • Definitions
    • FREE Estate Planning Worksheet
    • FREE Webinars
    • Estate Administration Legal Guide
    • Estate Planning Articles
      • Questions for Your Estate Planning Attorney Before Creating Your First Estate Plan
      • How to Create Your First Estate Plan in 2022
      • How to Choose a Guardian for Your Child
      • Address These Three Questions in Your First Estate Plan
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Adult Guardianship
      • Alzheimer’s Care
      • Custodial Accounts for Minors
      • Estate Planning
      • FAQs for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Elder Law
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Legacy Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicare and Social Security
      • Probate
      • Probate Avoidance
      • Irrevocable Trusts
      • Trust Administration
      • Trusts
      • Veterans’ Benefits
      • Wills
    • Newsletters
    • Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning for Niches
      • Trust Administration
    • Top Estate Planning Techniques
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Medicaid Planning
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Medicaid Frequently Asked Questions
    • Medicaid Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.

Estate Planning Services in Rochester, New York and the Finger Lakes Area

Connect With Us Today

(585) 374-5210
Law Pay Button
Attend a Free Webinar
Home » Incapacity Planning » Family Benefits of Incapacity Planning

Family Benefits of Incapacity Planning

March 24, 2014Incapacity Planning

When we talk to clients about incapacity planning, we often highlight the benefits that developing a plan will have for your family. The idea of losing your ability to communicate is never a pleasant thought, but understanding the practical realities that can arise after this occurs is often enough to cause people to develop a plan. If you have yet to begin incapacity planning, you might want to consider what will happen to you and your family should you lose your ability to make choices.

Incapacity planning makes your wishes clear.

Whether you create medical directives that state the kind of health care treatment you want to receive, or create powers of attorney that delegate your decision-making responsibilities to others, your incapacity plan makes it very clear what your desires are. The planning process gives you the ability to consider the practical matters that will have to be dealt with should you become incapacitated. Once you identify all the practical concerns that need to be addressed, you can then create tools that address each of them.

Without any incapacity plan in place, those practical concerns will still need to be met, but you won’t be able to address them yourself. Instead, others will need to make decisions for you, and manage your responsibilities on your behalf. These responsibilities usually fault people in your family. If you don’t have a plan, those people will not know what you would have wanted, and will have to struggle with that uncertainty.

Incapacity planning avoids conflict.

Even though you can never be absolutely certain that your incapacity plan will prevent family conflict, you can be sure that your plan will make conflicts less likely to occur.

In the event that you become incapacitated and don’t have a plan in place, do you know who will make decisions for you? Do those people know what you would want? Do you have family members who might have differing opinions on what is in your best interests?

Without a plan, none of these answers are clear. What is clear, however, is that if family members should have differing opinions, arguments and conflicts can easily erupt. In the worst case scenario, these conflicts can escalate to the point where your family is forced to go to court to fight it out.

Regardless of what the court decides, such conflicts can destroy important family relationships. Even if you had been vocal about your choices, not having any capacity plan in place that protects those decisions can cause serious harm to those closest to you.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
Clients notice Michael Robinson’s unique approach to his estate planning practice the minute they walk through his office doors.
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • How Estate Planning for a Family May Trap the Unwary Practitioner - August 31, 2022
  • State Income Taxation of Social Security Benefits - August 24, 2022
  • Understanding Tax Apportionment Clauses - August 17, 2022

Other Articles You May Find Useful

medicaid
Inconvenient Truths Make Incapacity Planning a Must
Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.
Young Adults Should Have Advance Directives
advance directives for health care
What Are Advance Directives for Health?
Rochester incapacity planning attorney
Who Decides If Someone Is Incapacitated?
incapacity planning
Consider the Importance of Incapacity Planning
conservatorship
Pros and Cons of Guardianship

Primary Sidebar

Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.

Blog Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube

TESTIMONIALS

News & Events

Seniors Rock Radio Show Recording 5-1-21

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U7UkQbEGy-xY7XFAXvX9Qz7pKSVDVV3D/view?usp=drive_web   Author Recent Posts Michael Robinson, Estate Planning AttorneyClients notice Michael Robinson’s unique approach to his estate planning practice the minute they walk through his office doors. Latest posts by Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney (see all) How Estate Planning for a Family May Trap the Unwary Practitioner -... Read more →

Pittsford Office

1163 Pittsford-Victor Road, Suite 120 (Powder Mill Office Park)
Pittsford, NY 14534-3817
Phone: (585) 374-5210
Fax: (585) 485-0394

See Larger Map Get Directions

Map

mrobinson_sidbr_map

Footer

  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
robinson law logo

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.

Attorney Advertisement


© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.