The Risks of Skipping A Living Will

A will is one of the most important components of your estate plan. You can accomplish many estate planning goals by creating a will, but you may also need to supplement it with other documents. One such example is a living will.

You should always discuss your will, a living will, revocable living trusts and other estate planning tools directly with an estate planning lawyer to determine what is most appropriate for addressing your needs. Your will is set up to be executed after you pass away. It names things, such as a guardian for any minor children, and what you would like to happen to the assets that you own. However, this still leaves many questions to be answered about handling issues that come up while you’re still alive.

A living will is a document that can help to address this by giving your caregivers directions about your wishes in the event of an incapacitating event, and any end of life decisions that might require action without your input.

Your living will should be drafted with your specific wishes in mind, but like all other estate planning documents, should also follow state laws. This ensures that your document is treated as legally valid at the time of need.

If you have questions about the kinds of decisions that might need to be included in your living will, it’s a good idea to work directly with your physician or medical professional, and then take the information that you learn from that meeting to your estate planning lawyer. An estate planning lawyer in VA can help you understand any specific state level rules for executing this document effectively.