An unexpected illness, injury, or other circumstance can leave you temporarily or permanently unable to manage your own affairs. Planning ahead lets you decide who should help, what authority they should have, and what wishes they should follow.
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Being willing to help and having the legal authority to do so are not the same thing.
A Power of Attorney identifies someone who can take charge to pay bills, manage bank accounts, handle property, communicate with financial institutions, or manage business responsibilities.
A Healthcare Power of Attorney identifies the person you want involved in healthcare decisions when you cannot make or communicate those decisions yourself.
HIPAA authorization can give the people you designate access to protected healthcare information when they need it to help you.
A Financial Power of Attorney, healthcare documents, and a Living Trust each have a different job. Together, they help the people you trust act with clearer authority and direction.
Identify someone you trust to handle financial matters when appropriate, including accounts, bills, property, investments, and other responsibilities.
Healthcare powers of attorney, advance directives, and HIPAA authorization help identify who can speak for you and what they should know.
A Living Trust can identify who should step in to manage trust assets if you are no longer able to manage them yourself.
Legal documents provide authority. They cannot decide who you trust. Those choices deserve thoughtful consideration before the need becomes urgent.
Think about who handles responsibility well, communicates clearly, and can put your interests first even when decisions are difficult.
Choose people who understand you, can communicate with your family, and will respect your wishes even if they personally would choose differently.
Without appropriate planning, a family may have to ask a court for authority through proceedings such as guardianship or conservatorship.
Name the person you trust to manage financial matters and property when you cannot act for yourself.
Identify who should make or communicate healthcare decisions and make sure that person understands your wishes.
Give the right people access to important medical information and clear direction about what you would want.
The goal is to keep you in control—even if someone else someday has to act for you.
Before your Estate Plan can take care of your family and what you have built, it needs to take care of you.
