Wills & Trusts
Consider how your property, family circumstances, and administration goals affect the structure of your estate plan.
Explore Wills & TrustsPlanning for Incapacity
Choose who can act before someone else has to guess.
Financial and health-care documents can give the people you trust clear authority when you cannot act or communicate for yourself.
Put health-care decision-making in trusted hands
A health care power of attorney lets you name someone to make health-care decisions when the document applies.
Living-will or advance-directive instructions can also document your wishes for defined circumstances, giving the people involved clearer written guidance.
Young adults may need documents too
Turning 18 changes who is automatically entitled to receive information or make decisions. A health care power of attorney and related documents may be worth considering even when a young adult remains on a parent’s health insurance.
The appropriate documents and authority depend on the young adult’s circumstances and choices.
Make the conversation part of the plan
Documents cannot replace a conversation. Clear expectations can make a difficult situation easier to navigate.
- Tell the people you name that you have chosen them.
- Discuss your priorities and the responsibility involved.
- Make sure they know where the signed documents can be found.
- Review the choices after major health, family, or relationship changes.
The documents should fit the person and the circumstances
The authority, instructions, and people appropriate for one family may not fit another. Document recommendations depend on your goals, relationships, health-care priorities, financial needs, and other facts.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Jennifer can discuss which documents and decisions may fit your circumstances after learning more about them.
Give the people you trust more than an assumption.
Schedule a conversation about financial authority, health-care wishes, and the people you want to act for you.