With Mother’s Day on the horizon, the health and well-being of mom is on everyone’s mind. Have you thought about whether mom has the necessary estate planning documents in place to protect what’s important to her? We know that all moms should have basic estate planning documents in place, including;
- A Will: All moms should have a Will. A Will sets forth mom’s “rules” for what happens with mom’s assets and things that are important to her, possibly protecting assets for children, naming someone mom trusts to be in charge of carrying out Mom’s rules (an Executor), and helps mom be sure that everyone plays nice when it comes to dividing mom’s assets after mom’s death.
- A Durable Power of Attorney Instrument: A Durable Power of Attorney Instrument appoints someone to make financial decisions and carry out financial tasks for mom if she is alive but can’t make decisions for herself or handle the finances herself. The person appointed should be someone mom trusts to step in to keep things running smoothly.
- Health Care Instructions: Health Care Instructions appoint someone to make medical decisions for mom if she is alive but can’t make medical decisions for herself. Mom should chat with this person in advance to discuss her preferences for medical treatment, thoughts on medical treatment and care, and end of life decision making.
- Provision to Protect Mom’s children: If mom has a child (or children) younger than 18 years of age, mom should appoint a Guardian to care for her child(ren) so that mom is sure the person who will raise the child is trustworthy, responsible, and will raise the child in a way that mom will approve.
If you are interested in learning more about helping mom protect herself and what is important to her, please contact the office. We would be glad to meet with you and mom for a no hassle, no charge meeting to discuss mom’s goals for her assets, family, and future.