Many studies report that a drastic number of Americans do not have a Last Will and Testament. A greater deal of them do not have any sort of planning or advance directive in place. Some people find them to be irrelevant, while others seek to avoid the idea of death altogether. However, advance directives are necessary for everyone in all walks of life. So here are the six legal documents, that we believe no adult should leave the house without;
Last Will and Testament. This document contains your last wishes. Often times it will direct how you wish to be buried and who will act as guardian of your children. In addition, it allows you to designate who will receive your real and personal property. By executing a Will, you designate how your property should be devised, as opposed to following the default provisions stated in Florida's Intestacy Statute. Your Will also designate who will act as Personal Representative (also known as an executor in other states) and be responsible for carrying out the terms of Will.
Durable Power of Attorney ("DPOA"). This legal document allows you to designate an agent to act in your place. Figuratively speaking, the agent “steps into your shoes”. Once executed, the agent has the authority to act on your behalf and perform any and all rights listed in the document. The document is known as “durable” because it remains valid in even if you lose capacity.
Designation of Health Care Surrogate. This document is very similar to DPOA in that it allows you to someone to make health care decisions for you. It is especially important in the event you become unable to make medical decisions for yourself.
Living Will. Science has granted us the ability to keep one physical body alive for a very long time, even if our mind is no longer there. Many believe that in this situation there is no quality of life. Thus a Living Will is important because instructs medical providers of your desires if you ever fall into this vegetative state.
Declaration of Preneed Guardian. This document allows you to name who you wish to serve as guardian in the event a Guardianship becomes necessary. The document is filed with the clerk in the county you live in.
HIPAA Release. The Health Insurance Portability and Aссоuntаbilitу Aсt, аlѕо known аѕ HIPAA, was created in 1996 by thе US Cоngrеѕѕ to protect thе рrivасу of an adult your information. The act prohibits уоur health саrе рrоvidеrѕ from rеlеаѕing уоur health саrе information unlеѕѕ уоu hаvе рrоvidеd уоur health саrе provider with a HIPAA rеlеаѕе fоrm. Unlеѕѕ уоu have рrоvidеd a signed rеlеаѕе, уоur hеаlth саrе рrоvidеrѕ аrе рrоhibitеd from diѕсuѕѕing аnу аѕресt оf your mеdiсаl infоrmаtiоn with аnуоnе whо iѕ, not dirесtlу invоlvеd in providing уоur саrе. This document allows healthcare providers to communicate with whoever is authorized or referenced in the document.
Overall, these six (6) of these documents are very important in creating and carrying out your estate plan. Once the documents are executed, Yergey and Yergey P.A. will upload them to their secure server for free. This way the documents can be accessed online, at any time. This can be extremely useful in the event of an emergency. This service is provided free to you. So please contact us today, to schedule an appointment and let us help you create your estate plan.