Estate Planning For Incapacity

By Libby Banks, The Law Office of Libby Banks

Estate planning isn’t just about who will get your assets on your death. It’s also about who will manage your assets and take care of you and your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. With proper planning, you will decide that. Without proper planning, a court may be the one to make that choice.

You are considered incapacitated when you can’t make decisions for yourself or handle your affairs. A Will won’t help if you are incapacitated — it’s only effective upon your death. You may have a power of attorney in place and believe this planning tool will effectively handle your affairs, but a power of attorney in Arizona only goes so far. Many clients who bring in their estate planning documents for review show me a power of attorney that is only barely better than nothing at all. If there is a problem with your power of attorney, you don’t have one, or an entity that holds your assets (like a bank) does not accept it, a probate court will have to appoint someone to manage those assets for you.

How, then, should we plan for the possibility that we will become incapacitated? In my view, the Revocable Living Trust is the best way to plan for incapacity. When you set up a Revocable Living Trust, you transfer assets from your name to the name of your trust, which you then control as the trustee. You name whoever you wish to take over as successor trustee upon incapacity and at death. That person steps into your shoes to take care of your financial affairs, without a court appointing them and without court intervention or the need for reporting and constant oversight. All of your business stays private. If you recover, you resume your role as trustee of your trust.

Are you ready to have all your affairs in order? I am happy to help. Call me at 602-375-6752, email Libby@libbybanks.com or inquire via my website at libbybanks.com.