Incapacity planning is something that no one likes to do, but that everyone should do. German Law will make the incapacity planning process as easy and stress-free as possible. Our compassionate attorneys provide help to clients in Minnesota and North Dakota so clients can prepare for what should happen if a sickness or injury causes them to become incapacitated.
Without an incapacity plan, a tragic situation could become much worse for you and your family. You owe it to yourself and to your loved ones to make an incapacity plan before it is too late. Give us a call to find out how we can help with your personalized plan and to get answers to questions you have about the incapacity planning process include:
- Why is it important to create an incapacity plan?
- What should be a part of my incapacity plan?
- How can an incapacity planning lawyer in North Dakota or Minnesota help me?
Why is it Important to Create an Incapacity Plan?
It is vitally important to create an incapacity plan because you never know when an illness or an injury could leave you unable to make your own medical decisions, manage your own affairs, or care for your own assets.
If you do not have an incapacity plan in place and something happens to you, the courts may become involved, your family could end up fighting and forced to make difficult decisions, and you would have lost the chance to have any control over your fate.
When you suffer a serious medical emergency and cannot communicate your preferences for care, decisions still must be made about the care that you should receive. If you have no plans in place, your family will have to decide whether to authorize or withhold life-saving care. There could be disagreements over who should make this choice or what the choice should involve. The fight could end up in court, all while your future remains uncertain.
Someone would also need to take control over making your life decisions and managing your assets. Your family would have to go to court so that a guardian could be chosen by a judge. The court process is stressful, ongoing court involvement overseeing the guardianship is intrusive, and the person who the court selects to manage your assets may not be the person who you would have preferred be chosen.
You don’t want this to be your fate, nor do you want to put your family in the position of spending money and time to go to court as they try to cope with your medical emergency. You need to make an incapacity plan so this does not happen.
What Should be Part of an Incapacity Plan?
Your incapacity plan should include advanced directives for healthcare, which allow you to specify what kinds of care you want and wish to decline. You can also name a healthcare proxy in advanced directives who should have authority to make choices for you that fall outside of those you already expressed preferences about.
You should also make plans for who will make your decisions and manage your assets in the event of incapacity. You can use a power of attorney to specify the person who should be put in charge of managing your assets and making your choices on your behalf. You can also use a living trust and name a backup trustee who will manage your assets for you that are held within the trust.
Your plan may also have other components, including working with an experienced attorney to use legal tools to ensure that you can pay for the costs of nursing home care without having to spend down your life savings. Talk with an experienced attorney to find out what components should be a part of your plan so you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing you and your loved ones are protected in case of incapacity.
How can an Incapacity Planning Lawyer in Minnesota or North Dakota Help Me?
If you live in Minnesota or North Dakota and you do not already have an incapacity plan in place, German Law will help you protect yourself and the people you love by making a comprehensive plan. Don’t leave your future uncertain and put the onus on your loved ones to make difficult decisions about your care in a medical emergency. Take the smart, proactive step you need to ensure you have determined your own destiny no matter what life brings. Give us a call to find out how we can help.
