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Reaching your mid-fifties and beyond marks a meaningful new chapter. For years, your goal has been to build savings and assets. Now, as retirement approaches, it’s time to shift focus to preservation and control; and ensuring that you decide how your assets are used. Making sure that essential legal documents are put in place now will spare your loved ones from confusion, financial hardship and lessen heartache.

The Power of Attorney: Your Financial Voice

If there is one document that is absolutely critical at any point during your lifetime, it is the Power of Attorney. This legal tool allows you to appoint someone you trust as your “agent” to handle your financial affairs, especially if you are physically or mentally unable to do so.

When creating this document, we recommend that it be “durable.” A durable Power of Attorney survives incapacity, which is precisely when you need it most. If you were to suffer a medical event or develop dementia, this document allows your agent to step in seamlessly to:

  • Pay your bills and manage daily expenses.
  • Handle real estate transactions or sell a home.
  • Manage insurance claims and retirement benefits.
  • Engage in Medicaid planning or asset protection strategies.

You must choose someone you implicitly trust. Whether it is a spouse, a responsible adult child, or a trusted friend, this person becomes your financial manager when you are unable to do so for yourself.

Trusts and Wills: Controlling Your Legacy

While the Power of Attorney protects you and your assets during your life, Trusts and Wills give you a voice about what happens to your estate post-death. These documents serve different purposes, but both are tools of empowerment.

Trusts are particularly helpful for tax minimization; asset preservation; planning for surviving spouses, minor or disabled children; for couples in second marriages or blended families; if you want to disinherit someone who would otherwise be entitled to inherit from you; if you own real estate in another state; or if you are trying to consolidate asset management. 

In addition to allowing you to decide who will inherit your estate, Wills allow you to create trusts for minor or disabled beneficiaries; disinherit a loved one; or name a guardian over minor children. 

Without a Trust or a carefully drafted Will, New York state laws might distribute your assets in a way that is not in the best interest of your loved ones or disinherits the people you love most.

Whether you choose a Will, a Trust, or both, the goal remains the same: control. You worked hard for what you have, and you should be the one to decide how it supports the people and causes you care about.

The Health Care Proxy: Your Medical Advocate

While financial planning is key, preparing for urgent healthcare decisions is also extremely important. A Healthcare Proxy allows you to appoint an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself.

This document gives you peace of mind, knowing that someone who understands your values and preferences will be the one speaking with your doctors and making any difficult decisions about your care.

The Alternative: Guardianship and Why We Want to Avoid It. 

You might be wondering, “What happens if I don’t have a Power or Attorney or Health Care Proxy?” If you become incapacitated and you do not have a Power of Attorney or Health Care Proxy, no one has authority to handle your financial matters and the person who may have the right to make medical decisions for you may not be your first, fifth or tenth choice to do so. In order to gain the ability to access your finances, or make medical decisions, someone will have to go to court to seek Guardianship over you. This proceeding takes time and money. 

A Guardianship proceeding is something we work very hard to help our clients avoid because, in effect, you lose your voice. By planning ahead, you ensure that the person making decisions on your behalf is someone you chose, and not someone that requires a judicial appointment.

These Essential Legal Documents Secure Your Future

As you approach retirement, the best gift you can give yourself and your family is clarity. It is uncomfortable for some people to talk about incapacity or aging, but let’s reframe the conversation. You aren’t planning for the end; you are planning for life! You are making sure by making sure you have these critical retirement documents in place that regardless of the situation you find yourself in, you still maintain your voice and remain in control of your legacy.

If it has been a while since you reviewed your documents, or if you are starting from scratch, now is the time to have the conversation!

*Featured image courtesy of Meier Law

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At Meier Law Firm, it’s not just business; it is personal. When important life decisions need to be made, our clients know they can trust us to help with sensitive and serious matters, such as drafting estate plans to include wills, living wills, power of attorney, trusts, and health care proxies; to administer an estate after a loved one has passed; or to assist clients in obtaining guardianship over a loved one who lacks the ability to manage their financial or personal needs. We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all solution. We work with you to understand your particular needs, counsel you on the best options available, and tailor a course of action that will achieve your goals. We answer your questions today and set you on a strong course for tomorrow.

When you need reliable legal counsel, call on Meier Law Firm, PLLC. Schedule a consultation by contacting our office at (518) 313-7809 or visiting TheMeierLawFirm.com.

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