7 Documents you Want Prepared Before you Die

You have heard it all before again and again. The reason for the repetition is . . . there really are 7 estate planning documents that should be prepared before one dies.

A Jacksonville Estate Planning lawyer will provide you with story after story that have no happy endings. These stories begin with people who talked about contacting a lawyer to have legal documents prepared, but never did.

The documents you need to consider today are:

  1. Last Will and Testament: This document allows you to name a guardian for your minor children in the event of your death, distributes your property to the people you want to inherit, allows you to donate to charity, among other provisions.
  2. Living Will: If you remember the Terri Schiavo Florida case, you will recall 7 years of court battles regarding life-prolonging procedures keeping Terri alive, after being diagnosed as in a persistent vegetative state. If a Living Will (which allows you to declare what, if any life-prolonging technology you desire) was in place, this costly, exhaustive and emotional fight would never have happened.
  3. Do-Not-Resuscitate Order (DNR): This document is state specific and it must be prepared in strict compliance with Florida Law. If prepared properly, it alerts medical professionals not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient when he/she stops breathing or the heart stops beating in specific medical conditions (end state renal disease, terminal cancer).
  4. Designation of Health Care Surrogate: This document allows you to name the person(s) you want to make health care decisions for you in the event that you are incapacitate or too ill to make these decisions yourself. If this document is not in place, the default health care substitute chosen may very well be someone you do not want to serve.
  5. Authorization to Release Health-Care Information: We have all heard of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996). This federal privacy rule provides protection for personal health care information. This law is so strict that if you have not executed a HIPAA Release even your health care surrogate or proxy will be unable to obtain and review your records.
  6. Trust Documents: There are numerous trusts for different types of situations. In general terms, a trust is utilized whereby property is held by one party for the benefit of another. For a listing of the various trusts available and their purpose, visit Jacksonville Trusts Attorney.
  7. Letter of Instruction: This document can be as simple or detailed as you desire. It can contain directions as to your burial and cremation wishes, organ donation wishes, and who you would like to care for your pets.

Don’t let another day pass, contact a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer.

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