End-of-Life documents

[Deanne]

We have a legal service thing we can purchase as a benefit at work. It's $20/month. I'd like to get my end-of-life documents put into place, just in case..... Has anyone had them all prepared? Is $20/month for a year worth it?

I'll need a will, medical power of attorney, and I don't know what else, if anything. My will need to account for a house, retirement account and life insurance from work, and a way to make sure my cats & dogs are cared for. I was thinking about having the will state that x-amount for each pet would be deposited on account at the vet of the new pet owner's choice for their continued medical expenses.

Any advice?

[willowtreewren]

Deanne,

We had this done about a year ago and it cost us about $1400. We own a business so ours was a bit more complicated than is would be for most folks. Plus the lawyer helped us arrange our assets so the the surviving spouse would not have to pay taxes on the money.

If you are putting aside money for any pets, be careful not to name or number the animals so that any change in your "family" will not necessitate a codicil.

Have you thought about who you want to have medical power of attorney? This should be considered carefully. You should also have a "living will" that outlines your medical wishes. Your POA should have a copy of that, too.

Are there any charities that you want to leave $ to? If so, it is better to leave a percentage instead of a flat amount.

Doing this was such a relief for us. It made us look at so many contingencies that we had not considered. We went so far as to consider that all of us...me, my husband, our daughter and her husband, might expire in one awful accident. How would we provide for the grandchildren? And WHO would handle the funds.

So, I do think that legal counsel is valuable. On the other hand, you want to be assured that the service being provided will truly represent YOU.

Good luck with this.

Aleta

[lmunchkin]

When my husband was in hospital for 77days, the case worker brought all the papers we needed to the room and we signed everything needed.  We don't have much in assets but home and furnishings and live insurance.  So we got POA a Will and it was no charge for either.

lmunchkin
 

Also a living Will too!

[lmunchkin]

Sorry, correction there, it was a POA and a living Will.  My mother before she died, typed up our Wills as she was a legal secretary back in 1997.

[willowtreewren]

Yes, you can get POA and living will documents at the hospital and filling them out doesn't need an attorney.

Aleta

[lmunchkin]

But it does require a notary of public, which the case worker was one and witnessed our signatures.  But I would not recommend going into Hospital for that.  It was a gruesome time for us both!  Yek, I hate even thinking about it!

lmunchkin
 

[jeannea]

You need a will, a power of attorney for the financial stuff, a living will, and a medical power of attorney. I got them all done with a lawyer for about $200 but I have few assets. The price will depend on how complicated your assets are and how complicated your wishes are. If it's too complicated you want to make sure you get an estate lawyer and not one who just does a little of everything.

[thegrammalady]

my parents have a living trust. the original trustees were my mother and father, now it's my mother, and sister and one day it will be my sister and i. my sister was listed as first alternate because she lives in the same town. everything my parents own is in the trust, the house, the bank accounts, the car, all insurance and ira's etc. because my sister and i already "own" everything, as trustees we could sell the house, divide the money and not tell anyone. the only taxes would be on money we take from investments and as long as i would keep my  "income" under 25,000 that means no taxes. this was all done by a lawyer and estate planner and i wouldn't suggest it be attempted any other way. but when my dad passed away in august it sure made things really simple. when i got sick it was $600 to rewrite the trust pertaining to me to put my share of things into a sub trust (as good a word as any) so i wouldn't loose any government subsidies i get now.