COVID-19 UPDATE: You Need a Medical Power of Attorney Now

Due to the coronavirus, now more than ever it’s important to have a medical power of attorney naming agents to make medical decisions for you if you cannot.

If you have not yet named someone with Medical Power of Attorney,  get this crucial planning in place now.  As Claire Horner and I spoke about in this Facebook Live video, https://www.facebook.com/galliganlawfirm/videos/1442796115909715/, it is very important to create this document, now more than ever with the coronavirus, and it can be prepared quickly and easily.

What is a Medical Power of Attorney?

A medical power of attorney is a legal document you use to give someone else authority to make medical decisions for you when you can no longer make them yourself.  This person, also known as an agent, can only exercise this power if your doctor says you are unable to make key decisions yourself.

Other Terms for Medical Power of Attorney

Depending on the state where you live, the medical power of attorney may be called something else. You may have seen this referred to as a health care power of attorney, an advance directive, advance health care directive, a durable power of attorney for health care, etc. There are many variations, but they all mean fundamentally the same thing.  In some states, your preferences are worked into the document itself, such as your preferences for surgeries, pain treatment, religious preferences and so on.  Texas tends not to include wishes within the document, so it is very important to discuss your medical wishes and preferences with your agent.

Be aware that each state has their own laws about medical powers of attorney, so it’s important to work with a qualified estate planning attorney to ensure your decisions will be enforced through legally binding documents. Also, some states may not honor documents from other states (Texas often does this), so even if you made these decisions and created documents in another state, it’s wise to review with an estate attorney to ensure they are legally valid in your state now.  If there are any doubts, a new medical power of attorney can be prepared quickly.

What Can My Medical Agent Do for Me?

Some of the things a medical power of attorney authorizes your agent to decide for you:

  • Which doctors or facilities to work with and whether to change
  • Give consent for additional testing or treatment
  • How aggressively to treat
  • Give consent to surgeries, medications and so on

I won’t fully discuss it here as I wanted to focus on the most basic medical decision-making document, but there are other similar documents that are also very important, such as a living will which directs end-of-life decisions and a HIPAA release which will facilitate your agent receiving information to make these decisions.  See here for a fuller discussion of the other documents.  https://galligan-law.com/making-end-of-life-decisions-part-of-your-estate-plan/

We are ready to help walk you through these decisions and prepare a medical power of attorney naming the agent who you trust to make these decisions for you. We are currently offering no-contact initial conferences remotely if you prefer and can arrange for remote document signings. Contact our office today and let us help you make the right choices for yourself and your loved ones.

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UPDATE: Coronavirus and IRS Deadlines-Filing Extended to July 15

As an update, coronavirus concerns have lead to an updated IRS deadline of filing and paying individual and C-Corp returns by July 15th

As I blogged last Friday and then posted on our Facebook page, the coronavirus affected IRS deadlines by extending payment due dates for individual and C-Corp taxes, but not filing deadlines.  The tax preparing community immediately responded, indicating that taking extensions for so many clients wasn’t feasible.  In light of that concern, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin tweeted on Friday that the deadline for filing would be extended as well.

There has been some confusion about the tax filing / tax payment deadline extensions, but ultimately it has been confirmed that both the filing and the payment deadlines have been extended from April 15 to July 15 giving all taxpayers and businesses additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties.  In short, the coronavirus affected IRS deadlines for both payment and filing of individual and C-Corp taxes.

If you are expecting a refund, however, the Treasury Department encourages you go ahead and file as soon as possible – the sooner you file, the sooner you will get your refund.  The blog from last week may be found here.  https://galligan-law.com/coronavirus-and-irs-deadlines/

Resource: Tax filing deadline moved to July 15, the latest measure to battle coronavirus downturn, The Washington Post, March 20, 2020

 

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Estate Planning Mistakes by Famous People

Many estate planning mistakes by famous people illustrate on a grand scale what applies to all of us; the need for an up-to-date, quality estate plan.

The instructions for the disposition and management of one’s estate at death through the use of wills, trusts, and other devices can cover almost about any topic you can think of. While the majority of instructions in estate planning concern finances, wills and trusts frequently guide decisions regarding health care, guardianships, business, education and even which heir gets the entire Barry Manilow record collection.

Born2Invest’s recent article entitled “The biggest estate planning blunders of all time” looks at a few colossal estate planning mistakes by the rich and famous.  Estate planning mistakes by famous people show you what can go wrong in the worst of ways.

Estate planning usually conjures up thoughts of drafting a will by an attorney. Although the cost of drafting an estate plan varies significantly based on location and complexity, it can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. Regardless of the cost, hiring an experienced estate planning attorney will save your family time, money and anguish after your death.

With that said, let’s take a look at some estate planning mistakes by famous people who simply didn’t get around to this very important task.

Ted Williams (Baseball Legend). When Ted died in 2002, he had one will that said his body should be cremated, and another that instructed he should be cryogenically frozen. As you can imagine, there was a fight among his children. This resulted in Ted’s decapitation (postmortem). Therefore, the Splendid Splinter, the greatest baseball hitter of all time, had his body and head frozen in Arizona at Alcor Life Extension Foundation.

Sonny Bono (Singer and Congressman). Sonny didn’t create a will. As a result, he passed away intestate. A lawsuit was initiated by ex-wife and singing star, Cher, to collect $1.6 million in unpaid alimony, along with a fraudulent claim by an illegitimate child (disproven by DNA testing), and Sonny’s widow, Mary.

Heath Ledger (Actor). Heath failed to revise his will after the birth of his daughter. At his death in 2003, his entire estate was split between his parents and sisters, but they agreed to give all the money to his daughter.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Actor). The Oscar-winning actor also never updated his will after the birth of his two daughters. Since he wasn’t married to his then girlfriend, there was an approximate $12 million estate tax that was owed.

Joe Robbie (the owner of the NFL Miami Dolphins). Robbie had a substandard estate plan that contained a pour-over will and revocable inter vivos trust. This was designed to defer estate taxes until after the death of his wife. However, it didn’t work as planned. She demanded her “elective share” as spouse, 30% of the husband’s illiquid estate, which created a $47 million tax bill that could only be settled by selling off his football team. His 11 children also went to court to fight over his estate.

James Brown (Singer). The “Godfather of Soul” wasn’t around to witness the 12-year epic legal battle among several blended families over his estate.

Barry White (Singer). White died in 2003 in the middle of divorce proceedings. Legally speaking, he was still only separated from his wife. As a result, she got it all, instead of his current girlfriend and mother of nine kids.

There are many more famous people who posthumously became members of this dubious club. Their eligibility for membership was poor estate planning that resulted in unintended—and in some cases, tragic—consequences. Although many Americans can’t really identify with these mega-wealthy or public icons, they do have assets and families and friends, and everyone should expect to need an estate plan.  See here for ideas on how to do it properly https://galligan-law.com/a-will-is-the-way-to-have-your-wishes-followed/

The club of estate planning mistakes by famous people shows the rest of us the need for proactive professional planning. Be certain that you work with a qualified estate planning attorney, so that your estate plan doesn’t end up like the ones above.

Reference: Born2Invest (January 27, 2020) “The biggest estate planning blunders of all time”

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