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Stevan Shipp, CSA 866-860-5971
A Place for Mom, Eldercare Advisor
Housing Choices By State
Learn about you local and state
laws.
Below is an example for information
in the
State of Georgia.
Senior Housing Selector recommends you contact
state agencies or an attorney for legal advice.
You should also contact your financial advisor
for information.
Be safe, not sorry.
Advance Directives- The following information is designed to
remove the mystery surrounding how to plan
for the future and encourage responsible
planning through execution of appropriate
advance directives.
Living Will- having nothing to do with distribution of
property upon death, the living will is a
statutorily created document which expresses
the desire to have life sustaining procedures
continued or terminated in the event that
a patient is on one of three critical medical
conditions ( coma, persistent vegetative
state , terminal illness) and there is no
reasonable likelihood of recovery. In addition,
a living will allows the patient to indicate
whether she would like to continue or terminate
provisions of food and water when suffering
from one of these critical conditions. We
often think of the decision addressed in
a living will as whether we want to be “hooked
up to a machine” to be kept alive when we
would otherwise die naturally. If you are
suffering from any of the mentioned conditions
the living will states exactly what you want
to happen so that your loved ones do not
have to make the excruciating decision regarding
provision of life sustaining procedures.
Durable Power Of Attorney For
Health Care-
This is a document in which we
designate
an agent to assist with all matters
relating
to our person. Along with general
medical
decisions, other matters such
as access to
finances to pay for medical care,
visitation
rights, admission to medical
care facilities,
and the authority to employ and
discharge
medical care personnel can be
addressed in
this document. An agent can also
be given
the authority to make decisions
regarding
the provision or termination
of life sustaining
procedures that would otherwise
be addresses
in a living will. The agent cannot
force
a decision upon us while we retain
mental
capacity, they will have authority
to act
independently if we lose that
capacity. In
the absence of a durable power
of attorney
for health care, Georgia law
provides a less
desirable alternative which allows
our spouse
or nearest relative to consent
to needed
medical care or treatment. This
law does
not cover the vast array of other
issues
included in a durable power of
attorney for
health care, and persons under
the consent
statute may disagree on a critical
decision,
execution of a durable power
of attorney
for health care remains the preferred
alternative.
Durable Power Of Attorney For Property Management
This type of POA (power of attorney)
allows
our agent to make decisions regarding
our
financing. The breadth of authority
granted
in a durable POA for property
management
can be great or quite limited
depending upon
our goal. A durable POA for property
management
can include authority to anything
involving
real estate, bank and securtities
accounts,
insurance, taxes and just about
anything
else imaginable. A LIMITED POA
for property
Management can be drafted just
to handle
a single event or transaction.
While most
durable POA for property management
become
effective upon execution, thouse
who do not
want authority to pass until
they lose capacity
can opt for a springing durable
POA for property
management. Georgia law does
not provide
a financial counterpart to the
previously
discussed provision that authorizes
our nearest
relatives to consent to medical
treatment.
Instead, the only alternative
available in
cases where the principal has
lost capacity
is to seek conservatorship through
an order
from probate court. Because this
process
can be time consuming , expensive,
and detrimental
to family harmony, execution
of a durable
POA for property management is
advisable.
Last Will And Testament-
This is the most familiar directives
for
most people. In Georgia this
is the primary
effectuate disposition of our
property upon
death. This is due to the probate
process
in Ga is relatively simple compared
to other
states, the need for expensive
and sometimes
complicated living trusts in
GA is usually
not very great. For thouse who
gross estate
is valued higher than the current
federal
estate tax lifetime exclusion,
note that
your will is often the tool used
to reduce
or eliminate estate tax upon
death. Whether
you have a large or small estate,
your will
is the most effective way of
letting your
loved ones know exactly how you
want your
affairs handled once you are
deceased. In
the absence of a will, Georgia
law provides
for payment to creditors followed
by distribution
of assets to certain common sense
beneficiaries
such as spouse and children.
The limited
cost of executing a will is undoubtedly
outweighed
by the assurance that disposition
of your
estate will be guided by your
wishes rather
than determined according to
Georgia’s law
of intestacy.
This information is provided
only as community
education. It is not intended
as nor should
be considered as legal advice.
For Specific
legal advice, contact an attorney
or call
the Georgia Senior Legal Hotline
at 1-888-257-9519
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