In addition to giving away your money, property and stuff, Idaho Estate Planning also allows you to plan for your own life while you are alive which is really more important for you. With modern medicines, healthy foods and exercise, people are living longer than ever before. However, our Estate Planning Lawyers in Idaho understand that with a longer life comes the increased risk that many people will develop some type of mental incapacity later in life. Our Idaho Estate Planning Attorneys are experienced and can help each individual plan for and avoid the sometimes destructive and often expensive problems mental incapacity can bring by assisting you in completing a Durable Power of Attorney.
With decades of experience, our Lawyers in Idaho help each client customize their Idaho Estate Plan to include a Durable Power of Attorney. Doing this prepares each person in the event a mental incapacity happens to them which makes them unable to care for themselves or their finances or property. Our Estate Planning team of attorneys in Idaho includes partners Randy Budge and Lane Erickson and attorneys Nathan Palmer and Dave Bagley who have received the highest ratings from Martindale and Hubbell, AVVO and Justia for their ethics and legal ability as Idaho Estate Planning Attorneys. We have the experience and the ability to help you complete your Idaho Estate Plan including a Durable Power of Attorney.
What Happens if You Don’t Have a Durable Power of AttorneyMental incapacities comes in all sorts of way including Alzheimer’s, strokes, injuries, and just plain dementia as a result of age. Developing a mental incapacity during your life can create problems and unique needs that must be dealt with by your family if you don’t have a Durable Power of Attorney in place. While you are healthy and fine mentally, you have the ability to take care of all the daily affairs in your own life. For example, you get to decide how you deal with and handle your own healthcare, businesses, finances, property and other areas of your life. The problem is, if you develop a mental incapacity it’s possible that you could no longer take care of these things for yourself.
If you do not have a complete estate plan in Idaho, which includes a Durable Power of Attorney, the only way another person can legally take care of your daily life affairs, including your banking and finances is through a guardianship proceeding. A guardianship is a legal proceeding in Court where a judge enters an official Order naming a guardian for you. Once named your legal guardian then has the duty and responsibility of caring for you and making decisions about your daily life affairs. Additionally, the Court enters an official Order naming a legal conservator for you. This person has the duty of taking care of your property and finances. In many instances, one individual can fulfill both of these duties.
The problem is, that without a Durable Power of Attorney as part of your estate plan, a guardianship is required. It is often an expensive and time-consuming process that involves multiple lawyers, doctors, family members and other witnesses. As a result of this, a guardianship proceeding creates is not only more expensive than an Idaho Estate Plan, it can also result in a family fight when family members cannot agree on who should be named as the legal guardian. All of this can be avoided through completing an Idaho Estate Plan.
How Having a Durable Power of Attorney Helps YouOur Estate Planning Attorneys in Idaho have the experience and ability to help you avoid the problems that often arise with mental incapacity. With the help of our Estate Planning team, you will have a complete Idaho Estate Plan that includes a Last Will and Testament which gives away your property, a Living Will to help you make end of life decisions, and more importantly a Durable Power of Attorney.
Having a Durable Power of Attorney is important because it allows you to decide who you will name to care for you, your property and your finances if a mental incapacity makes it so you can no longer do these things for yourself. Completing a Durable Power of Attorney allows you to avoid guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. This saves you money and eliminates the possibility of your family fighting or arguing about who should be named.
Enlist an Idaho Estate Planning Attorney to Help YouCompleting your Idaho Estate Plan including a Durable Power of Attorney can save you money and can help you avoid family contention. The Idaho Estate Planning Attorneys at the Racine Law Office are here to help you and your family when you need it the most. We are available to discuss your options and answer your questions at an initial consultation. Call us toll free at 877.232.6101 or 208.232.6101 for a consultation with the Racine Olson team of Estate Planning attorneys in Idaho. You can also email us directly at racine@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Estate Planning questions and will help you solve your Idaho Estate Planning problems.