Planning for incapacity is something we all should do at some point. Doing so ensures that when you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself, there are structures and instructions in place so that legal, financial, and personal matters are handled dealt with...
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Advance Directives
Incapacity planning ties into estate planning
Planning for incapacity is something we all should do at some point. Doing so ensures that when you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself, there are structures and instructions in place so that legal, financial, and personal matters are handled dealt with...
Health care directives not always honored
Advance directives, for those who’ve done research on the topic, are instruments that provide tools for folks to handle their medical care in the event they lose the ability to make such decisions. In Georgia, state law provides the opportunity for people to select a...
Psychiatric advance directives provide focus on mental health care, P.2
In a previous post, we began speaking about psychiatric advance directives, which are documents outlining the preferences of mental health patients in terms of medical care. These documents, now in use in various states, give those with mental health conditions the...
Psychiatric advance directives provide focus on mental health care, P.1
Our Georgia readers may have heard of advance health care directives and of their importance in helping to avoid confusion and disagreement over medical decision-making. Think of Terri Schiavo and similar incidents. Among those who know about advance directives, there...
Spiritual support from friends leads to more aggressive end-of-life care
According to a new study conducted by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, those with advanced cancer are more likely to receive aggressive care at the end of life and spend more time in intensive care of the receive some sort of spiritual support from a...
End-of-life decision-making not always easy, even with preparation
Decision-making for those nearing the end of their life can be a trying time for families. In addition to the personal dynamics involved, there can be a lot at stake financially when somebody dies. When this happens, Last week, Paul G. Smith, a retired attorney...
Advance health care directives help people specify medical preferences
According to the Mayo Clinic, nearly three-quarters of Americans eventually find themselves in a medical situation where they are unable to communicate their wishes regarding health care to their providers. Both young and older persons encounter this problem....
How did the estate and gift tax change in the fiscal cliff deal? P.2
In our last post, we informed our readers about the new gift and estate tax rules that came out of the recent fiscal cliff deal. As we noted, the potential change has been a huge issue in the estate planning world for some time, attorneys not knowing what the future...
Addressing uncomfortable questions in estate planning an important thing to do, P.2
In our previous post, we began speaking about some uncomfortable yet important questions that can come up in the estate planning process, and the need to address these questions. As we noted, this is not always easy to do, but well worth it.There is an increasing...