“Many of us have experienced the unexpected "telephone call" from a hospital or loved one that a sudden negative medical event has occurred, involving a member of your family.”
It’s never a good thing, when you get a call and the person on the other end asks if you are sitting down.
A sudden death or medical crisis can turn your world upside down, especially if the person was not prepared with the right documents says The Union in the article “Estate planning in a time of crisis.” Your heart sinks and questions start flooding your mind. Will they survive? How far is the hospital and how fast can you get there? Will they end up in nursing care? Who will be able to help you care for them?
The questions go on, long after the initial panic subsides.
There are three documents you’ll wish you had when dealing with a medical crisis for a loved one: a health care directive, a durable power of attorney and a living trust.
When a loved one needs help in making decisions and discussing their situation with doctors and other care providers, a health care directive grants you the authority to speak on their behalf. The law requires health care professionals to have legal permission to speak with a representative about highly personal and confidential information. The law requires medical professionals to perform life-saving procedures, which are sometimes painful and unwanted. If the wishes of the person are not correctly documented, it is not possible to stop these procedures from being initiated.
The most common need for this document, is what kind of on-going care is needed and wanted for the loved one, who can no longer express their wishes or care for themselves without help.
Any asset owned by an incapacitated person that is not titled in the name of their trust, cannot be overseen by the successor trustee. The person who is named a durable power of attorney is permitted to control and direct these assets, including transferring them into the trust.
Retirement accounts, 401(k)s, IRAs, Deferred Compensation Benefit Plans, SEPs and all other assets or benefit plans not titled in the trust name can be administered only by the person named the durable power of attorney.
If there is no power of attorney at the time a loved one becomes incapacitated, the only way they can access funds outside a trust is to have a guardian appointed for their loved one. The court must be involved in every part of their life, as long as their loved one lives.
A living trust is a legal document that provides for the smooth transition of management, administration and distribution of assets by the grantor, the person who is putting their assets into their trust during their lifetime. When that person is no longer legally competent, the successor trustee takes over with all the legal powers outlined in the living trust document.
This document gives clear legal authority so that assets can be managed, income can be distributed and bill paying and distribution of the estate at death can take place.
Speak with a qualified estate planning attorney to put these important documents into place, along with creating a will, so you are protected before an emergency occurs.
Reference: The Union (Sep. 9, 2018) “Estate planning in a time of crisis”
“我們當中許多人都接過從醫院或是所愛的人發生了突然的醫療事故的”來電”，涉及您的家庭成員。”
當你接到電話並且另一端的人詢問你是否坐下時，這絕不是一件好事。
突如其來的死亡或醫療危機可能會讓你的世界顛倒過來，特別是當這人沒有準備好正確的文件，就如The Union 在文章“Estate planning in a time of crisis”中說。你的心沈澱，而各種問題開始湧入你腦海。他們會活過來嗎？醫院有多遠，你能多快到達那裡？他們最終需要接受護理嗎？有誰能幫你來照顧他們？
很久之後, 最初的恐慌會消退, 但這些問題仍繼續存在。
在為親人處理醫療危機時，您會希望有這三份文件：醫療授權書，財務授權書和生前信託。
當親人需要幫助做出決定並與醫生和其他護理人員討論他們的情況時，醫療授權書可授予您代表他們發言的權力。法律要求醫療專業人員獲得法律許可方可與代表就高度私人機密資料對話。法律要求醫療專業人員執行挽救生命程序，這些程序有時是痛苦和不必要的。如果未有文件正確記錄此人的意願，則無法阻止這些程序。
需要這文件最常見的情況是，親人需要或要求什麼樣的照顧, 因他們不能在沒有幫助的情況下表達自己的意願或照顧自己。
無行為能力人所擁有的任何資產如果不在信託名下，不能由繼任受託人監管。財務授權書允許授權人控制這些資產，包括將資產轉移到信託中。
退休賬戶，401（k）s，IRA，推遲領取補償金計劃，SEP以及所有其他未以信託命名的資產或福利計劃只能由財務授權書授權人來管理。
如果親人在失去能力時沒有財務授權書，他們如要獲得信託以外的資產唯一方法就是為他們親人指定一名監護人。只要親人還在世，法庭必介入他們生活的每一個部分。
生前信託是合法文件，可讓該人於在生時把資產管理權順利轉移信託裡及由成立人作資產分配。當該人在法律上沒有行為能力時，繼任受託人將接管生前信託中概述的所有法律權力。
該文件明確規定了法律權限，以便管理資產，分配收入，支付賬單及分配遺產。
與合資格的資產規劃律師交談，將這些重要文件放在適當的位置，同時建立遺囑，以便在緊急情況發生之前得到保障。
參考: The Union (Sep. 9, 2018) “Estate planning in a time of crisis”