You have to be prepared for the possibility of incapacity if you want to plan ahead for the future in a comprehensive manner. This falls into the category of those instances when you hope for the best but make sure that you are ready for any challenges that may present themselves.

There are those who don’t take incapacity planning seriously because they are under the impression that it is very unlikely that they will ever become unable to make their own decisions. But when you put the matter under a microscope you find that this is simply not the case.

The segment of the population that is at least 85 years old is growing faster than any other, and the average lifespan is 78 years but of course the longer you live the higher this average lifespan is going to be.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, approximately 40% of people who are 85 years of age and over have contracted the disease. So it is becoming increasingly likely that you will live into your mid 80s and beyond and four out of every 10 individuals is a pretty significant ratio. Plus, Alzheimer’s is by no means the only cause of incapacity among our nation’s elders.

If you visit a good South Carolina estate planning attorney he or she will be able to assist you as you add an incapacity component to your comprehensive plan for aging. This can include durable powers of attorney and perhaps a disability trustee if you are using a revocable living trust to transfer assets. Having representatives of your own choosing in place is key, and taking action to protect yourself with the benefit of professional assistance is a relatively simple and prudent step.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

When the topic of estate planning arises people generally think about preparing their assets to be transferred to their loved ones after they pass away. Indeed, this exercise is at the core of estate planning, but during current times there are other issues to consider as well. Medical science is capable of some amazing things as technologies advance, and doctors can now keep people alive using artificial means for extended periods of time when they are in an unresponsive and terminal condition. Of course this is something that people who have reached an advanced age are going to face more frequently than others, but younger people also sometimes fall into unresponsive states due to accidents or catastrophic illnesses that strike them before their time.

Many people have very strong opinions about whether or not they would like to be kept alive via artificial life support systems. There are no absolute rights or wrongs because this is a purely personal decision, but everyone should make their wishes known. If your family members were forced to make such a life and death decision without knowing your feelings about these matters, a devastating time in their lives would be made that much more difficult. They may not all agree on the correct course of action, compounding the problem further. And the decision that is ultimately made may not be the one that you would have made had you been able to communicate.

Advance health care directives are recommended by estate planning attorneys to address these situations. The advance directives that are most commonly utilized are the living will and durable medical power of attorney or health care proxy. With a living will you state your preferences regarding medical procedures such as the use of artificial life support systems to keep you alive should you fall into a terminal condition. With a durable medical power of attorney or health care proxy you appoint an attorney-in-fact who is empowered to make health care decisions in your behalf should you become incapacitated and unable to make them for yourself in real time.

Advance health care directives should be a part of your comprehensive estate plan. If you do not have the documents in place at present you would do well to arrange for an appointment with an estate planning attorney so that you can take care of this important matter sooner rather than later.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Planning for the future can be challenging because you can’t be certain about the costs that you will be facing. You don’t know exactly how well your health will hold up or what the health care system will look like in 10 or 20 years.  In addition to this there are talks about alterations being made to Medicare and Medicaid. Though there are things that are out of your control, it is important to be proactive about doing what is necessary to gain an understanding of all that is available to you.  It would be devastating to learn that you were entitled to a valuable benefit that you never took advantage of because you were simply unaware of it.

With this in mind we would like to draw your attention to an often overlooked military benefit called the Veterans Aid and Attendance pension. If you are a qualified single veteran who needs assistance with your day-to-day living needs you may be eligible for as much as $1632 per month to help you address these costs. A couple who is qualified may receive up to $1949 each month, and a surviving spouse may be qualified for a monthly payment that can reach $1055.

The main reason why many people don’t know that they are qualified is because the length of service eligibility requirements are so modest. To be qualified one must have served on active duty for at least 90 days with a minimum of one of these days taking place during a time of war. Because this benefit is intended to assist veterans who have financial need, those who have assets exceeding $80,000 do not qualify. However, your home and your vehicles do not count toward this upper threshold limit.

To obtain more detailed information and the specific application forms that are necessary, get in touch with the United States Veterans Benefits Administration either online, in person, or over the phone.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The process of estate planning is of course centered around the preparation of your assets for eventual transfer to your loved ones after you pass away. But, when you start to consider the details in-depth you will usually come to the realization that most people don’t pass away one day after being in good health for the days, weeks, months and years preceding their deaths.  It is not uncommon for people to go through a period of incapacity during the latter stages of their lives and it is important to take the necessary precautions.

How likely is it that you will go through a period of time when you will not be able to make sound medical and financial decisions? The fact is that people are living longer than ever, and the fastest growing segment of the population are those people 85 years of age and up. Upwards of half of the people who reach this advanced age are suffering from dementia to some degree, with 40% of the oldest old being Alzheimer’s sufferers. Though we have all heard about Alzeheimer’s, a lot of people don’t realize just how ubiquitous it actually is.

If you were to become unable to make sound decisions in your own behalf an interested party or parties could petition the court to appoint a guardian to act in your behalf. If the court granted the petition you would become a ward of the state, and you would not have control over the choice of guardian. To protect yourself you may want to execute two separate durable powers of attorney, one for health care decisions and one for financial matters . Durable powers of attorney remain in effect after the incapacitation of the grantor so you have decision makers of your choosing in place should you become unable to make decision for yourself at some point in time.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.