What’s the difference between an estate plan and a will?
An estate plan is a set of comprehensive documents that address your financial and health care wishes during incompetency, guardianship during incompetency or after death, and distribution of your assets after your death.
A will only handles matters after your death – it doesn’t address finances, health care decisions, or guardianship in the event of your incapacity.
“Why does that matter?”, you’re probably asking. The thing is, if you’re incapacitated you are unable to make decisions for yourself. This could be due to an illness or an accident; in the case of long-term illnesses your incapacity may be foreseeable, but this is not always the case. A simple fall or car accident may lead to your inability to handle your affairs, even if only for a few days or weeks. And keep in mind that guardianship provisions in your will are only effective on your death. In the event of your incapacity someone has to take care of you AND your children.
Incapacity isn’t always permanent, but the decisions made during your incapacity are. If you recover – as most do – you have to live with the consequences of those decisions made by others. When you create an estate plan you get to decide ahead of time who will make those decisions for you, and they are better prepared and more likely to make the same decisions you would.
A will only allows you to plan for your death, don’t leave out the documents that plan for your life! If you would like to find out how we can help you plan for life, please email me at jamie@weeselawfirm.com or call 913-706-8491.
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