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When it comes to estate planning, you’ve most likely heard people mention a couple of different types of wills. The most common is a “last will and testament,” which is also known simply as a “will.” But you may have also heard people talk about what’s called a “living will.”

Both terms describe important legal documents used in estate planning, but their purpose and the way in which they work is very different. Here we are going to discuss some of the most critical things you should know about living wills, and explain why having one is an essential part of every adult’s estate plan and how to get yours created or updated.

A living will, often called an “advance healthcare directive,” is a legal document that tells your loved ones and doctors how you would want decisions related to your medical care handled in the event you become incapacitated and are unable to make such decisions yourself, particularly at the end of life. Specifically, a living will outlines the procedures, medications, and treatments you would want—or would not want—to prolong your life if you become unable to discuss such matters with doctors yourself.

For example, within the terms of your living will, you can spell out certain decisions, such as if and when you would want life support removed should you ever require it, and whether you would want hydration and nutrition supplied to prolong your life.

Beyond instructions about your medical care, a living will can even describe what kind of food you want and who can visit you in the hospital. We’ll cover more of the specific decisions and scenarios addressed in a living will in more detail below.

A last will and testament is used to ensure your assets are divided upon your death in the way you choose. Note that your will only deals with your assets, and it only operates upon your death. In contrast, a living will is about you, not your assets, and operates in the event of your incapacity, not your death.

In other words, a last will tells others what you want to happen to your wealth and property after you die, while a living will tells others how you want your medical treatment managed while you are still alive.

An “advanced directive” or “advance healthcare directive” are both general terms that describe legal documents that are related to your healthcare needs. Typically, an advance healthcare directive will include a living will (with instructions for how you want your medical care handled), and a medical power of attorney (naming the people you want making decisions for you, and giving them authority to talk with your medical team).

A medical power of attorney is the part of an advance healthcare directive that allows you to name a person, known as your “agent,” to make healthcare decisions for you if you’re incapacitated and unable to make those decisions yourself. While medical power of attorney is an advance directive that names who can make healthcare decisions in the event of your incapacity, a living will explains how your medical care should be handled.

For example, if you become seriously ill and are unable to manage your own medical treatment, a living will can help guide your agent to make these decisions on your behalf, letting them know how you want decisions made. But it’s the medical power of attorney part of the document that says who should be making the decisions. In this way, medical power of attorney and a living will work closely together, and for this reason, they are sometimes combined into a single document.

Now, this is critically important to note: Not all living will form documents or templates include a medical power of attorney or the proper legal authorizations to give whoever you want making decisions for you (your agent) the legal authority to access your medical records. Therefore, if you are completing an online living will or advance healthcare directive, or supporting a family member to do so, make absolutely sure that the document legally names a decision-maker with at least two backup decision-makers, gives that person legal authority under HIPAA to access your medical records, AND provides specific and detailed instructions regarding how your medical care should be provided in the event of incapacity.

A living will is a vital part of every adult’s estate plan, as it can ensure your medical treatment is handled exactly the way you want in the event you become unable to communicate your needs and wishes yourself. Additionally, a living will can prevent your family from undergoing needless stress and conflict during an already trying time.

Without a living will, your family will have to guess what treatments you might want, and your loved ones are likely to experience stress and guilt over the decisions they make on your behalf. In the worst cases, your family members could even end up battling one another in court over how your medical care should be managed.

Although you may think that a living will is something that only the elderly or older people need, the fact is, you can experience a serious accident or illness at any age, which would leave you incapacitated and unable to communicate your wishes for medical care. For this reason, all adults over age 18 should have both a living will and a medical power of attorney in place.

One tragic example of just how horrific things can become when a young person becomes incapacitated without a living will in place is the case of Florida’s Terry Schiavo, who spent 15 years in a vegetative state after suffering a heart attack at age 26. Because she had neither a living will nor a medical power of attorney, Schiavo’s young husband fought her parents in court for years for permission to remove her from life support, specifically to remove the hydration and nutrition that was keeping her alive. The resulting litigation made news headlines around the world and exposed a deep divide among Americans over the right-to-die movement.

A few of the most common types of decisions, treatments, and scenarios typically addressed in a living will include the following:

• Tube feeding: You can include instructions about if and for how long you would want tube feeding used to supply you with nutrients and fluids needed to prolong your life.
• Resuscitation (CPR & DNR): Depending on whether or not you would want to be resuscitated in the event your heart stops, you can include what’s known as a Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order in your living will. A DNR can also be a stand-alone document.
• Intubation & mechanical ventilation: You can state if and for how long you would want to be intubated and placed on a mechanical ventilator if you could not breathe on your own. This has become particularly important during the pandemic, since in severe COVID-19 cases, patients often require intubation, which involves putting you into a medically induced coma and inserting a tube into your windpipe, allowing oxygen to be pumped directly to your lungs using a ventilator.
• Pain management & palliative care: These are instructions about the types of pain management medications you would—or would not—want to be prescribed to you; if you want to die at home; as well as any other interventions you might want for comfort and pain management at the end of life.
• Organ/Tissue Donation: You can specify in your living will if you want to donate your organs and/or tissues for transplant following your death. Note that you will likely receive life-sustaining measures until any procedures are completed to remove your organs and tissues.

While you’ll find a wide selection of generic living wills, medical power of attorney, and other advance directive documents online, you may not want to trust these do-it-yourself solutions to adequately address such critical decisions. When it comes to your medical treatment and end-of-life care, you have unique needs and wishes that just can’t be anticipated by fill-in-the-blank documents.

To ensure your directives are specifically tailored to suit your unique situation and that you actually get it done instead of just knowing you need to get it handled and never do it, work with experienced planning professionals like your Personal Family Lawyer® to create—or at the very least, review—your living will, medical power of attorney, and other documents.

We don’t just ensure your documents get created correctly; we have processes to keep you moving forward beyond procrastination and actually get them signed (which is one of the biggest risks to your family), as good intentions alone won’t keep your family out of court and out of conflict should you become incapacitated without a signed (and updated) plan in place.

Even if you have the most well-thought-out and professionally prepared living will around, it won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on if nobody knows about it. Both living wills and medical power of attorney go into effect the second you sign them, so you should immediately deliver copies to your agent, your alternate agents, your primary care physician, and any other medical specialists you’re seeing.

And don’t forget to give those folks new versions whenever you update the documents and have them tear up the old documents. This is a standard part of our practice when serving our clients, so when you work with us to create your legal documents, we’ll ensure that everyone who needs to have your documents always has the latest version.

Your living will and medical power of attorney must be created well before you become incapacitated and unable to make your own decisions. You must be able to clearly express your wishes and consent in order for these planning documents to be valid, as even slight levels of dementia or confusion could get them thrown out of court.

Not to mention, an unforeseen illness or injury could strike at any time, at any age, so don’t wait—contact your Personal Family Lawyer® right away to get these vital documents put in place.

A living will and medical power of attorney are just two of the legal documents you need as part of your overall plan for incapacity. You will also likely need other estate planning tools, such as a durable financial power of attorney and a revocable living trust, in order to have a truly comprehensive incapacity plan. We see estate planning as so much more than planning for death, which is why we call it Life & Legacy Planning—because it’s about your life and the legacy you are creating by the choices you make today.

If you’ve yet to create your incapacity plan, schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session™ right away, so as your Personal Family Lawyer®, we can advise you about the proper planning vehicles to put in place. And if you already have an incapacity plan—even one created by another lawyer—we can review it to make sure it’s been properly set up, maintained, and updated. Contact us today to get started.

Proper estate planning can keep your family out of conflict, out of court, and out of the public eye. If you’re ready to create a comprehensive estate plan, contact us to schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session. Even if you already have a plan in place, we will review it and help you bring it up to date to avoid heartache for your family. Schedule online today.

When running a business, it’s easy to give estate planning less priority than other matters. After all, if you’re facing challenges meeting next month’s payroll or your growth path over the immediate term,  concerns over your potential incapacity or death can seem far less pressing.

But the reality is considering what would happen to your business in the event of your incapacity or when you die is one of the most valuable things you can do for your business when it’s done right. Though estate planning and business planning may seem like two separate tasks, they’re actually inexorably linked. And given that your business is likely your most valuable asset, estate planning is vital not only for your company’s continued success, but also for your family’s future well being.

Without a proper estate plan, your staff, clients, and family could face dire consequences if something should happen to you. Yet these dangers can be fairly easily mitigated using a few basic planning tools.

To demonstrate, here are three potential problems your business is likely to encounter due to poor planning, along with three corresponding solutions:

If you only have a will in place, your estate—including your business assets—must go through when you die.

Lots of people think a will is all they need to protect their assets. But a will alone is insufficient to protect your company in the event of your death. If you only have a will, upon your incapacity or death, your family and business will be stuck in court.

During, the court oversees your will’s administration to ensure your assets (including your business) are distributed according to your wishes. However, often takes months to complete and can be extremely costly for your heirs—both of which can seriously disrupt your business operations and even lead to your company’s ruin. And perhaps worst of all, is a public process, leaving your business affairs open to whoever wants to know what’s going on.

On top of all that, while your family and/or team may know how to run your company without you, they might be unable to access crucial assets, such as financial accounts, until is concluded. Moreover, even if they can access all of the needed assets, the legal fees required for them to navigate can quickly deplete your company’s coffers.

And this is all assuming your will isn’t disputed during, which is also a real possibility, especially with a highly profitable business at stake. If your heirs disagree about whom you name to control your business and/or how the business assets should be divided, a vicious court battle can ensue and drag on for years, dividing your family and crippling your company.

Solution: You can avoid probate by placing your business in a living trust. A trust is not required to go through, and it transfers your assets immediately upon your death. Trusts also protect your business from creditors and lawsuits, who might go after your company with you out of the picture. Plus, trusts remain totally private.

If you become incapacitated and haven’t legally named someone to manage your business assets, the court will pick someone for you.

Another issue with a will is that it only goes into effect when you die and offers no protection for your business if you’re incapacitated by accident or illness. With just a will—or no planning at all—the court will appoint a “financial guardian,” sometimes called a conservator, to assume control of the company until you return to capacity.

Whether the guardian is a family member, employee, or outside professional, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll run the business exactly how you would, and this can lead to major disruptions. Not to mention, having a court-chosen guardian managing your business affairs can cause major conflicts and strife within both your team and family members, particularly if you’re out for a lengthy period.

Solution: One planning tool that can prevent this is durable power of attorney. Durable power of attorney allows you to name the person you would want to run your business if you’re ever unable to do so yourself. If you’re ever sidelined by illness or injury, this person will be granted immediate authority to handle your business affairs, such as managing payroll, signing documents, and making financial decisions.

 If you name a family member to run your company after your death and don’t offer them a detailed plan, your business can be wrecked by just a few bad decisions.

There are countless horror stories of family members assuming control of multi-million-dollar family businesses and running things into the ground in just a short span of time. And if such massive fortunes can be squandered so easily, it’s highly doubtful that smaller operations like yours will fare much better.

Even if your successor doesn’t destroy the company, he or she can cause serious conflicts among your staff, clients, and family simply by managing the business radically differently than you. Given this, simply naming a successor to take the reins in your absence is not enough.

Solution: A comprehensive business succession plan can help ensure your company doesn’t fall apart when you pass on. Beyond simply naming a successor, such plans provide stability and security by allowing you to lay out detailed instructions for how the company should be run. From specifying how ownership should be transferred and providing rules for compensation and promotions to establishing dispute resolution procedures, an effective succession plan can provide the new owner with a roadmap for your company’s continued success.

If you haven’t taken the time to put proper estate planning in place, your business is missing one of its most essential components. Consult with us so we can help you find the planning strategies best suited for your particular operation. Putting an effective estate plan in place can ensure the company and wealth you’ve worked so hard to build will survive—and thrive—no matter what happens.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for business owners and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer you a LIFT Your Life And Business Planning Session, which includes a review of all the legal, insurance, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Schedule online today.

There’s currently more than 1,300 different forms of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin traveling through cyberspace, with a total value of more than $575 billion. While some people buy and hold crypto as an investment opportunity, many consumers use it just like other forms of currency—to purchase good and services.

From lower fees, enhanced security, and the elimination of chargebacks and payment disputes, there are numerous benefits to accepting cryptocurrency in your business. But perhaps the biggest benefit is the potential growth of your customer base and bottom line.

Indeed, with more and more companies accepting digital currency every day, it’s only a matter of time before this payment option becomes the rule, rather than the exception. Best of all, the technology that allows businesses to accept crypto now makes it just as easy—if not easier—to accept as it is to accept credit cards.

If you’re interested in capitalizing on this booming new payment method, you can get started accepting cryptocurrency by following these three steps:

You’ll first need to set up a merchant wallet account. A wallet account works like email, only instead of sending messages, it’s a digital address where customers send their money.

Merchant wallets can be set up in minutes though payment-processing companies like Coinbase, CoinGate, and BitPay. These digital exchanges automatically convert crypto into your base currency at the exchange rate that existed at the time the money was sent. From there, the funds can be transferred to your bank accounts.

Your wallet’s address, or public key, is a unique, 26-35 alphanumeric-character string, along with an associated Quick Response (QR) Code. The QR code allows customers to simply scan a computer-generated graphic with their smartphone to send money, rather than typing out the full address.

Your wallet also comes with a private key, which is another unique string of characters that basically works as your password to access your wallet. Be certain this key is stored securely and never lost, because if it is, all of your money will be gone, and there’s no way to recover it.

Some wallets only accept specific forms of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, so if you want customers to be able to use more than one form, be sure you select a wallet that allows for that.

After you’ve set up a merchant wallet, you’ll want to integrate payment options into your points of sale (POS). Wallets can be used with nearly every different type of POS system, such as smartphones, payment terminals, online shopping carts, as well as paper and digital invoices.

Payment processors typically charge either a percentage (many just 1%) or a small monthly fee to process these transactions, which include taking the payment, exchanging it from crypto to base currency, and transferring it to your bank. These fees are generally much cheaper than those charged for using credit cards.

Here are a few of the most popular ways for businesses to accept crypto:

• Person-to-person: The easiest way to accept cryptocurrency payments is person-to-person (P2P). Using a mobile app that comes with your wallet, the customer scans your QR Code with their phone or tablet, and the money is sent to from their wallet to yours. In this way, even your neighborhood lemonade stand can take digital currency.
• POS systems: If you’re looking for a more robust solution, several options exist for streamlining the process of accepting crypto payments through your POS. Some companies, like Coinkite and Revel, offer their own payment terminals similar to those used for credit and debit-card payments. Others, like Bitpay, offer apps that can be integrated into existing POS devices like the SoftTouch POS System. Some of the more advanced systems even offer the ability to take crypto-based debit cards and serve as a crypto ATM.
• Online payment platforms: If you have an online business, there are a number of payment gateways that let you easily accept cryptocurrency payments through your website. In fact, some popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WordPress offer simple plugins that let you quickly integrate crypto into your existing online shopping cart. With most wallet accounts, you can even accept digital currency via online payment platforms like PayPal or Stripe.

While payment processors provide you with tools and reports for accepting and tracking crypto payments, you’ll likely want to integrate these transactions into your existing accounting systems as well. Some software providers like QuickBooks have apps for quickly integrating crypto payments, and most merchant wallet accounts include instructions for manually importing these transactions into other systems with minimal hassle.

As with any other major development of this nature, there are several legal, tax, and financial issues you should be aware of when accepting cryptocurrency in your business. These issues shouldn’t deter you from take advantage of this new opportunity, but because crypto is fairly new and largely unregulated, you should definitely consult with us to ensure you have all of your bases covered.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for business owners and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer you a LIFT Your Life And Business Planning Session, which includes a review of all the legal, insurance, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Schedule online today.