Incapacity & Disability Planning
Protect Your Family and Your Future
Estate Planning:
Are you thinking ahead to how your family will be cared for in the future?
A will can help when it’s designed to meet their needs and yours.
Incapacity Planning
Are you prepared if illness or injury leaves you unable to make decisions for yourself?
Accidents and illnesses beyond our control can strike at any moment, usually when we expect them the least.
Planning for incapacity is one of the most critical and often overlooked parts of estate planning. Without it, your family could be left navigating unexpected financial burdens and stressful court battles. That’s why our estate planning attorneys are committed to helping you create a robust, thoughtful plan that protects your interests, preserves your dignity, and ensures your family can avoid court and other conflicts.
Incapacity doesn’t have to turn your family upside-down.
See Our Estate Planning Options:
What is Incapacity Planning?
Incapacity planning protects your choices even when you can’t voice them.
Estate planning isn’t only about what happens after you pass away. It’s also about safeguarding your plans and desires if injury or illness leaves you unable to make on your own. Unlike other aspects of estate planning, incapacity and disability planning prepares your family for situations where you’re still alive but can’t manage your own care or finances.
Incapacity can be temporary or permanent. It can last months or even years, leaving your loved ones in an uncertain and challenging position. Planning now ensures your choices are honored. It helps your family avoid the stress of not knowing what you would want. It can also keep the courts from interfering by deciding who can legally take care of you and how you’ll be cared for.
Guardianship vs. Conservatorship
What’s the difference between guardianship and conservatorship?
Guardianship usually focuses on personal and medical decisions, while conservatorship addresses financial affairs.
Clear plans prevent the court from deciding who manages your affairs.
If you don’t have clear plans in place for both guardianship and conservatorship, the courts will typically appoint someone to manage these critical decisions for you. This can lead to outcomes that don’t line up with your wishes.
Essential Planning Tools for Incapacity
Effective incapacity planning utilizes a combination of key legal documents.
We use key legal tools to build a comprehensive and personalized incapacity plan specifically for you. These include:
Healthcare Power of Attorney
This advanced directive gives someone you trust immediate authority to make critical medical decisions on your behalf if you’re unable to communicate your wishes.
Living Will
Also known as an advance healthcare directive, a living will clearly lists your preferences for medical treatment. It lets you say ahead of time if there are medical treatments you do or don’t want in specific circumstances.
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
Using a durable financial power of attorney, you appoint an individual to manage your finances if you become incapacitated, including your bills, investments, real estate, and business interests.
Revocable Living Trust
A revocable living trust allows your assets to be managed seamlessly during your lifetime. If you become incapacitated, the trust immediately transfers management of your assets to your appointed trustee, avoiding court intervention and protecting your family’s privacy.
Digital Asset Protection
Modern incapacity planning also includes a plan for managing your digital assets, such as online banking, email, social media, and cloud storage. It makes sure these critical digital accounts can still be accessed if you’re incapacitated while still protecting your financial and personal information.
Putting It Simply…
Effective planning now gives you and your family security for the future.
Find out how we can create a plan specifically for you.
What Happens If You Don’t Have an Incapacity Plan?
Without an incapacity plan, the state decides who manages your affairs, taking the decision away from you and your family. Courts can appoint guardians or conservators that you wouldn’t have chosen. This can of course cause all sorts of problems. The public court process is also costly. It can drain your assets and lead to conflicts between family members.
Additionally, without proper documentation, courts often require bonds for appointed representatives. These bonds serve as insurance but can be costly and difficult to obtain, especially if the appointed person has financial or credit issues.
Don’t leave your family vulnerable to the state’s plan. Our incapacity planning attorneys help you establish clear instructions, saving your family from unnecessary conflict and court costs.
Planning for Incapacity. Who Do You Trust?
Incapacity can leave you with no choice but to let others take care of you and make crucial decisions for you. In that situation, trust is key.
Our attorneys guide you through the thoughtful process of choosing the best representatives for your medical, financial, and legal decisions. This gives you and your family peace of mind both now and if something happens to you in the future.
Are you ready to make sure the people you trust have what they’ll need if something happens to you?
Single? Incapacity Planning is For You Too.
Incapacity planning isn’t only for families. Single adults have unique needs that must also be addressed to avoid unnecessary hardship. If you don’t have the right documents in place, your preferences can be overlooked. This can lead to decisions being made for you that go against your own wishes.
We help single adults establish clear, enforceable instructions about medical care, living arrangements, dietary preferences, supplements, and financial matters as part of an incapacity plan. This helps ensure your specific wishes are honored even if you don’t have someone close by to advocate for you.
Protect Your Business and Your Family
If you’re a business owner and don’t have a clear incapacity plan, your business could face major difficulties in your absence.
Our attorneys design business-specific planning tools that meet your needs, including disability insurance, long-term care insurance, and buy-sell agreements. These safeguard your business, family, and employees, ensuring what you’ve worked so hard for continues uninterrupted.
How Incapacity Planning Fits Into Your Comprehensive Estate Plan
A comprehensive estate plans ensures all elements work together seamlessly.
An incapacity and disability plan is most effective when it’s part of a broader, comprehensive estate plan.
Your complete estate plan should also include clear directions for distributing your assets after death, guardianship provisions for minor children, and other tools that make sure your legacy is passed on to future generations.
Regular updates to your plan keep it relevant and enforceable, reflecting changes in your circumstances and preferences. In a cohesive estate plan, each element supports the others, giving you a strong, unified approach to protecting you and your family.
Don’t Wait for a Crisis – Start Planning Today
Our experienced estate planning attorneys are dedicated to helping you build a clear, comprehensive, and legally binding plan that ensures your wishes are followed, your family stays out of court, and conflicts are avoided.
Planning for incapacity is smart.
It’s also one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and your family.
Contact us today to schedule your personal estate planning session. We’ll guide you through every step, making sure you’re fully prepared for whatever life brings.
Schedule your Legacy Planning Session or call us to get started!
Don’t Wait for a Crisis – Start Planning Today
Our experienced estate planning attorneys are dedicated to helping you build a clear, comprehensive, and legally binding plan that ensures your wishes are followed, your family stays out of court, and conflicts are avoided.
Planning for incapacity is smart. It’s also one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and your family.
Schedule your Legacy Planning Session or call us to get started!
Contact us today to schedule your personal estate planning session. We’ll guide you through every step, making sure you’re fully prepared for whatever life brings.
Learn more about our estate planning process.
Estate Planning Resources
Joint Tenancy vs. Tenancy in Common
Joint tenancy and tenancy in common may sound complicated, but don’t worry. We’ll explain them both. We’ll also talk about the differences between these two ownership structures and explore how they impact estate planning. Read More
Seven Things to Consider When Drafting Your Will
Drafting your will is a vital step in the estate planning process. We share seven important points to keep in mind as you begin the process. Read More
Common Property & Separate Property
Knowing the difference between community property and separate property is vital when it comes to estate planning. We explore what sets community property and separate property apart from each other and why they matter. Read More
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