why you should include incapacity planning in your estate plan
DESCRIPTION
To ensure that both you and your loved ones are protected in the event incapacity strikes you need to include incapacity planning in your overall estate plan.TRANSCRIPT
INCAPACITY PLANNINGWhy You Should Include It in Your
Estate Plan
INCAPACITY BY THE NUMBERS
Incapacity doesn’t just refer to age related dementia
diseases such as Alzheimer’s
A tragic car accident, for example, or a
debilitating illness could cause incapacity
at any age
You have a 1 in 5 chance of becoming disabled
before age 65
After 65 your risk jumps to 1 in 2
After age 80 you have a 3 in 4, or 75 percent chance of becoming incapacitated
INCAPACITY DEFINED
“if you cannot make decisions well enough to get health care,
food, shelter, and other care necessary to avoid serious
physical injury or illness and, therefore, need continuing care
and supervision”
According to the laws of Oregon, you are considered incapacitated
ORS 125.060 through ORS 125.080
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT PLANNING AHEAD
If you become incapacitated and failed to create an
incapacity plan there could be a number of negative
consequences that follow, such as:
HEALTHCARE DECISIONSa
In the absence of an advance directive indicating what your
wishes are with regard to end of life decisions, the
physicians treating you don’t know
what your wishes are
In addition, without the proper advance directive it may be
unclear who has the authorityto make those decisions for
youif you are incapacitated
What could happen is your family members could wind up
in a protracted legal battle for the right to make
healthcare decisions for you
CONTROL OF ASSETS AND FINANCES
b
If you remain incapacitated for more than a few days someone will have to take
control of your assets and finances
In the absence of an incapacity plan this will require court
intervention through a petition for guardianship
DAILY DECISIONSc
Just as someone will need to control your finances, someone
will need to make daily decisions
for you which will also require the appointment of a guardian unless you have planned ahead
INCAPACITY PLANNING TOOLS
A number of incapacity planning strategies and tools can be incorporated into your
overall estate plan, including:
ADVANCED DIRECTIVES1
Oregon allows you to execute an advance directive, commonly referred to as a
“living will” which allows you to (i) appoint a healthcare representative who can make healthcare decisions for you in the event
you are unableto do so yourself, and (ii) gives you the
abilityto express your wishes now regarding life-
sustaining treatment in the event youever become incapacitated
LIVING TRUST2
Creating a revocable living trust is an excellent way to provide
your spouse, or anyone else, with immediate access to, and control over, assets in the event of your
incapacity
POWER OF ATTORNEY3
A traditional power of attorney terminates upon the incapacity
of the principal
If you execute a durable POA
it will survive your incapacity
A POA allows you to appoint someone as your agent to act
on your behalf in legal transactions
CO-OWNERSHIP4
By titling your assets, such as your home, vehicle, and bank
accounts jointly with your spouse (or other loved one),
the co-owner will at least have access to the asset
LEARN MORE ABOUT INCAPACITY PLANNING IN
PORTLAND OREGON
