Protecting Assets and Wishes: Essential Legal Steps for Alzheimer’s Patients and Their Families
As Alzheimer’s gradually diminishes an individual’s ability to communicate, it also poses a potential threat to their estate and assets. Families who have a loved one whose cognition is in gradual decline will want to safeguard their loved one’s wishes for their estate before they become incapacitated. There are crucial legal steps that need to be taken. In this article, the Virginia Beach elder law attorneys at The Law Office of Angela N. Manz will discuss what steps you should take if your loved one has an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Update your estate plan
One of the first steps you should take as soon as you get an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is to review and update your estate plan. This includes ensuring your will and trusts reflect your current wishes. There will be a time when you become incapacitated and can no longer make decisions on your own. So, when you’re first diagnosed is when you want to discuss your long-term care plan with an estate planning attorney.
Identify your financial assets
Next, you’ll want to gather information about your financial assets. You’ll want to document bank accounts, investments, and insurance policies, and identify their legal, financial, and accounting advisors. Accessing passwords for online accounts is crucial for managing finances as your cognitive ability declines. Your elder law attorney can help you through this process. We will go over your finances with you and safeguard your assets so that you won’t run out of money when your long-term care plan is executed.
Power of attorney and medical power of attorney
You will want to execute a durable power of attorney (POA) and a medical power of attorney (MPOA). These individuals will be authorized to make legal decisions on your behalf. This is especially important because you will reach a point when you are no longer able. So, you’ll want a trusted loved one—a spouse or a child—to handle financial matters and medical decisions.
Those who fail to establish a POA or MPOA could find that they end up the subject of a guardianship hearing. This is a hearing during which the state appoints a legal guardian to manage the individual’s affairs. This process is costly, time-consuming, and may not align with the family’s preferences. Hence, why it’s so important to have a POA and MPOA assigned prior to losing the capacity to handle decisions on your own.
Talk to a Virginia Beach Alzheimer’s Long-Term Care Attorney Today
The Law Office of Angela N. Manz represents the interests of Virginia Beach seniors who are interested in revising, editing, or creating an estate or long-term care plan. Call our Virginia Beach estate planning lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your next steps to a comprehensive estate plan right away.
