Without question, you have financial matters to consider when you are devising a plan for the future. When the subject of estate planning comes up many people immediately think about transferring assets to their loved ones. But in addition to this it is a good idea to consider all of the eventualities of aging.

Individuals don’t generally pass away on a given day after being in good health for the period of time that preceded their passing. For this reason it is a good idea to include advance health care directives when you are creating your estate plan.

The two advance health care directives that are widely recommended are the living will and the durable power of attorney for health care. A living will is used to state your wishes concerning medical procedures such as being kept alive via the use of artificial life support systems.

This is a very sensitive subject and different people have different feelings about it. This is a personal decision and it is important to let your wishes be known so that there are no disagreements among family members regarding the appropriate course of action should you become unable to communicate your own decisions.

A durable power of attorney for health care is used to name a representative who would make medical decisions in your behalf should you become unable to make them for yourself.

Advanced directives are a key component to the modern holistic plan for aging. If you have not yet executed these important documents, you may want to take action right now to arrange for a consultation with an experienced Jacksonville estate planning attorney.

The Edwards Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

The rudimentary purpose of estate planning from a financial standpoint is to take control and make sure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes rather than the will of the court. However, there are other matters that can be left up to the court if your estate plan does not address the possibility of future incapacitation. No one would debate the fact that considering such a scenario in not especially pleasant, but it is necessary all the same.

If you look at the statistics people are living longer, and the fastest growing age group is people 85 and over. Once you start advancing past that age you may indeed start to find it difficult to make sound decisions even if you are not physically incapacitated, and this is no badge of shame. Aging is something that we all experience and it is as natural as being born, but you do have to address the realities that you may face and make the appropriate preparations.

Let’s say you were to reach the point where you were having trouble making sound personal and financial decisions and did no planning to address this eventuality. Any interested party could then petition the court to appoint a guardian of the person to make personal decisions for you, and this would include sensitive medical choices. The court could also be asked to appoint a guardian of the property(which could be the same person as the guardian of the person), and this would be an individual or entity that would manage the assets in your estate.

Most people would prefer to select their own representatives to take on these roles if they were to become unable to make decisions on their own. This can be done by executing a health care proxy and a durable financial power of attorney. When you do this you take control of your own future, name the representatives of your choice, and gain the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your affairs are in trusted hands.

The Edwards Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

There are certain benefits that go along with doing your part to defend our country, and one of these is the retirement pension that service members are entitled to after spending at least twenty years on active duty. However, there is another type of pension that many people qualify for without even knowing it called the Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension.

This pension is available to veterans who can prove that they need assistance tending to their day to day personal needs, things like eating, dressing, and taking care of their daily medical routines. If you qualify, you can use your monthly Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension check to help to pay for nursing home or assisted living facility costs or cover care that you are receiving in your home.

One of the reasons why many veterans would assume that they don’t qualify for this pension without looking into it is because the length of service eligibility requirement is surprisingly minimal. One must have served for only ninety day with at least one of them being during a time of war to qualify for the Veterans A & A benefit. The only other requirement is financial. If your total assets exceed $80,000, you are ineligible, but your home and your vehicles are not included when you calculate the sum of your assets.

A single veteran who is eligible can receive as much as $1,632 every month, and this can really go a long way to defray your long term care costs. A married couple may be entitled to monthly payments as high as $1,949, and a surviving spouse who qualifies can receive as much as $1,055 per month.

If you think that you may qualify for the Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension, you will have to obtain an Application for Pension or Compensation through the United States Veterans Benefits Administration.

The Edwards Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.