Having a Plan in Place Before You Need One

For the past two weeks, my beautiful 17 month-old niece has been staying with me.  My sister had an overseas work trip and my family was more than happy to add an extra kid to the household for a short time.  She’d been with me for two days when she started tugging at her ears- in my experience, a sure sign of ear infection.

Now, my sister and her partner (who is also an attorney) had discussed executing a document giving me temporary guardianship and the ability to make medical decisions, should the need arise while the baby was in my care.  Busy lives got in the way and the document was never executed.  As a result, when I needed to take the baby to the pediatrician, we all scrambled to get paperwork in order.  All in all, while inconvenient, it was not a big deal.

The experience got me thinking about how often people put off executing documents because life gets in the way.  In this case, the inconvenience was minor.  However, working in Estate Administration, I see cases where the lack of estate planning or healthcare documents is more than inconvenient- whole families can be adversely impacted.

My point is that if you wait until you have a pressing need to create or update your estate planning documents, you or your family could be faced with more than mere inconvenience.  Creating Trust and Healthcare documents while in good health ensures that your wishes will be carried out in the time of need.

For more information or to schedule a free consultation, contact our office today at 602.249.1328.

Contributed by MH Phoenix Estate Planning Attorney Andrea Claus.

About Morris Hall:
At Morris Hall, we have focused our legal practice on estate planning for over 40 years.  Along with estate planning, our attorneys help clients and their families with matters of probate, trust administration, wills, power of attorneys, business planning, succession planning, legacy planning, charitable gifting and other important legal aspects.  We also have divisions in financial, real estate and accounting to help you incorporate all of your planning together, ensuring that everything works perfectly for your needs and situation. Our Arizona offices are located in Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Cave Creek, Tucson, Prescott, Flagstaff and Arrowhead.  Our New Mexico offices are located in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe.  Contact us today at 888.222.1328 to schedule an appointment!

This blog should be used for informational purposes only.  It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice.  If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney in your community who can assess the specifics of your situation.