What You Need To Know About Estate Planning Before Your Next Summer Vacation
As you planning your next vacation this summer, you may be checking off the usual boxes to make sure everything goes smoothly, like booking flights, reserving your hotel room, or finding a babysitter for the kids. What may not be on your checklist is making sure you have an estate plan established before you leave.
Travelling can be unpredictable. Even the most detail-oriented planning can never fully prevent medical emergencies or other unexpected situations. Most trips go according to plan, but taking extra time to create a few legal documents with a family law attorney can give you the relief that everything will go as you planned it and that it aligns with Massachusetts law.
Here are five estate planning tips you should consider before hopping on a plane, train, or automobile to your vacation destination:
- Create Estate plan
An estate plan includes important documents that dictate how financial and medical decisions, and even end-of-life treatments, will play out in the event that you are incapacitated and cannot make those important decisions. Moreover, an estate plan can direct inheritance of assets and even avoid probate, if properly create. Your estate plan can include several key documents:
- Will
- Revocable or Irrevocable Trust, depending on your goals
- Durable Power of Attorney
- Healthcare directives/living will (including Health Care Proxy and HIPAA authorization)
- Name a guardian.
If you have minor children, an estate plan allows for you to name a guardian who is willing to take legal custody of your children in the event of your death or incapacity. If you haven’t named a guardian, the court can decide who will take care of your kids without your input.
- Travelling with adult children
Once a child becomes a legal adult, parents no longer have legal authority over their medical or financial affairs, even if they’re still on your health insurance. There are several legal documents where a child can sign and grant their parent this legal authority, such as a health care proxy, HIPAA authorization, and a durable power of attorney. These documents are essential before travelling with your adult children and finding yourself in situations where your child may need medical attention.
- Already have an estate plan? Make sure everything is up-to-date!
If you already have an estate plan, this is a perfect time to return to it and make sure it aligns with your current desires. For example, the person you initially named as an executor, trustee, or guardian may no longer be the right choice, or may no longer be able to carry out these duties. Your estate plan should reflect any important life changes since its last update, like the death of a beneficiary, marriage, divorce, birth of a child, or changes in assets.
- Communicate your Plans
An estate plan can only be executed smoothly if everyone involved is aware of the plan. Before travelling, notify your family and loved ones about your travel plans, how to access your original estate planning documents, and the contact information for your estate planning attorney. Also, if you have children and guardians named in the will, it may be best to ensure that they know about your plan.
This might seem like a lot to prepare, especially as you are busy planning your next vacation. That’s why our attorneys at Hera Law Group are here to help you. Schedule a free consultation with Hera Law Group to create a plan tailored to your life, your family, and Massachusetts law.
Written by Arianna Langford
