Incapacity Planning: Why You Should Include It in Your Estate Plan

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Incapacity Planning
Why You Should Include It in Your Estate Plan
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Incapacity by the Numbers
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Incapacity doesnt just refer to age related
dementia diseases such as Alzheimers
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A tragic car accident, for example, or a
debilitating illness could cause incapacity at
any age
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You have a 1 in 5 chance of becoming disabled
before age 65
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After 65 your risk jumps to 1 in 2
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After age 80 you have a 3 in 4, or 75 percent
chance of becoming incapacitated
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Incapacity Defined
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According to the laws of Oregon, you are
considered incapacitated
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
ORS 125.060 through ORS 125.080
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Consequences of Not Planning Ahead
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If you become incapacitated and failed to create
an incapacity plan there could be a number of
negative consequences that follow, such as
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a
Healthcare decisions
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In the absence of an advance directive indicating
what your wishes are with regard to end of life
decisions, the physicians treating you dont know
what your wishes are
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In addition, without the proper advance directive
it may be unclear who has the authority to make
those decisions for you if you are incapacitated
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What could happen is your family members could
wind up in a protracted legal battle for the
right to make healthcare decisions for you
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b
Control of assets and finances
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If you remain incapacitated for more than a few
days someone will have to take control of your
assets and finances
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In the absence of an incapacity plan this will
require court intervention through a petition for
guardianship
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c
Daily decisions
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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
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Incapacity Planning Tools
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A number of incapacity planning strategies and
tools can be incorporated into your overall
estate plan, including
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Advanced Directives
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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 unable to
do so yourself, and (ii) gives you the ability to
express your wishes now regarding life-sustaining
treatment in the event you ever become
incapacitated
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Living Trust
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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
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Power of Attorney
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A traditional power of attorney terminates upon
the incapacity of the principal
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If you execute a durable POA it will survive
your incapacity
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A POA allows you to appoint someone as your agent
to act on your behalf in legal transactions
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Co-Ownership
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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
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Learn More About Incapacity Planning in Portland
Oregon
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Learn More About Incapacity Planning in Portland
Oregon