What have you done to take care of you? You need to Get a Living Will and a Power of Attorney in the Event of Incapacity 

If something happened to you today, would your loved ones know where to find your important paperwork? How to contact your lawyer? Where to find your bank accounts, IRA, life insurance policy, and safe-deposit box? Would they know where to find your will, living will, power of attorney, or your trust? 

 Get a Living Will and a Power of Attorney in the Event of Incapacity – We cannot stress enough that these documents are key to ensuring you retain control over what happens to you personally and what happens to your finances if you should become ill or incapacitated. Here is a quick review of  the benefits of each document.

  Living Will  – This is the document that allows you to select and outline the specific forms of medical treatment you would like to receive and not receive, should you be unable to communicate your wishes due to your health condition. You get to dictate in advance whether you would like to receive life support, or if you are in a permanent vegetative state that is incurable if you do not want the means of artificial life support to keep you alive, though you are legally “brain dead.” You can also specify, in this document, whether you would you’re your organs donated. Ultimately, with a living will, you alone get to make decisions about how you will be cared for in the future. This takes the burden off of other family members who may or may not be familiar with your desires. You can also designate a health care agent who can ensure that your wishes in the living will are implemented if you are incapacitated.

Durable Power of Attorney, This document, under CT law, can provide at your sole discretion at time of signing this document either limited or sweeping powers to the one you designate to have those powers. A durable power of attorney only has any legal effect if the person executing it becomes incapacitated. Further, this document’s legal effect is immediately terminated if the person who provided the power dies. When the signer of the power of attorney dies,  the will would become the governing document.  The durable power of attorney allows you to designate who will have responsibility and control of your finances should you become ill or incapacitated. Our CT statutory form for power of attorney allows the one executing it to cross off powers they do not wish to designate, but can include everything from giving another the power to pay for your medical treatment, your bills, access your bank accounts, to filing your taxes, buying and selling real estate, and handling other matters of your life. It is really up to you. It is cautioned that you select someone for this task who is completely trustworthy, and who would never use this tremendous power to do anything but serve your best interests.

At Tindall Law Firm, LLC we have attorneys who are very experienced in preparing these documents and can assist in helping you document your wishes. Please contact us with any questions on this topic or any other legal issues by calling us at  (203) 755-0018 or visiting us online at https://tindall-lawfirm.com/ with all your legal needs.