When most people think about estate planning, they think about what happens after they die. Who will receive their assets? Who will inherit the family home? Who will manage their trust?

But estate planning also needs to address what happens if you are still here, but unable to make decisions or manage your affairs yourself. These are the kinds of situations that incapacity planning is designed to address.

Planning for the Unexpected

Incapacity can happen in many different ways:

• A sudden accident: You're unconscious in the hospital. Your family needs to make healthcare decisions, but they don't know what you would want and who is authorized to make decisions.
• A serious illness or surgery: You are conscious but unable to manage your finances, pay bills, access accounts, or handle other everyday responsibilities.
• A gradual decline: Cognitive impairment affects your ability to make important decisions or manage your affairs, and someone needs to step in to help protect your interests and carry out your wishes.

Whatever the circumstances, the underlying concern is the same: What happens when you can no longer make or communicate your own decisions?

Without an incapacity plan, your loved ones may have to seek court authority to make decisions on your behalf. In Nevada, this can involve a guardianship proceeding, in which a judge determines whether a guardian should be appointed for an incapacitated adult. The court considers a number of factors when determining who is qualified and suitable to serve, including any person the individual previously nominated. However, without planning in advance, you may have less control over who is ultimately appointed to make decisions on your behalf.

Guardianship can be appropriate in some circumstances, but it can also involve court proceedings, formal requirements, and ongoing responsibilities for the appointed guardian. Planning ahead with the appropriate documents allows you to designate the people you trust and establish a framework for managing your affairs if you become unable to do so yourself.

A comprehensive estate plan includes documents that explain your wishes and give trusted individuals the authority to act on your behalf when necessary. These can include a durable financial power of attorney, which allows someone you designate to handle financial and legal matters on your behalf, and a healthcare power of attorney that designates someone to make medical decisions. Other documents, such as an advance directive, can communicate your preferences regarding medical treatment.

The specific documents and planning strategies you need will depend on your circumstances, but the goal is the same: to make sure your wishes are known and that someone you trust has the authority to carry them out when you cannot.

Organizing Your Estate Plan

At Sundvick Legacy Center, we help clients keep their estate planning documents and important information organized and accessible, so their trusted people can more easily find what they need when the time comes.

This includes not only a physical binder of their documents but also digital versions that can be shared and accessed quickly. We also store important documents in DocuBank, a national electronic storage service that makes essential documents like a healthcare directive and powers of attorney accessible 24/7 to hospitals and medical providers in emergencies.

But creating and organizing your estate plan is only part of the process. There is another important step that can easily be overlooked.

Make Sure the Right People Know

If you couldn't explain your estate plan yourself, would your loved ones know what to do?

Your family may know that you have an estate plan, but do they know where to find it? Do they know who you've named as your trustee or agent? Do they know how to contact your attorney?

For example, someone may need to get into your home while you are hospitalized. A family member may need to locate your healthcare documents. Your designated agent may need to find information needed to manage your finances. A successor trustee may need to know where your trust documents are located and who to contact for assistance.

In a stressful situation, even a relatively simple task like feeding a pet can become overwhelming when no one knows where to start.

An estate plan works best when the people you've chosen understand their roles and know where to turn when they need to act.

Have a conversation with the people you want to name as your agents, trustees, or other decision-makers. Let them know you've chosen them, explain what their role would generally involve, make sure they are willing to accept the responsibility, and tell them where to find your estate planning information.

The people you've chosen do not necessarily need to know every detail of your financial life ahead of time. But they should know enough to find the information they need and understand how to put your plan into action.

Your estate plan shouldn't be a mystery your family has to solve during a crisis.

A Plan They Can Put Into Action

Estate planning is about making thoughtful decisions today that can help protect you and the people you love, whether you become incapacitated or your loved ones eventually need to carry out your wishes after your death.

By planning for the future, choosing the right people to step in, organizing your important information, and making sure those people know where to find it, you can give your family something incredibly valuable: a clear path forward when you can't be there to explain it yourself.

^Sources:

^{https://selfhelp.nvcourts.gov/self-help/guardianship/overview/purpose-and-types-of-a-guardianship
https://bradyware.com/beyond-your-will-incapacity-planning/
https://farrellandgrochowski.com/the-importance-of-incapacity-planning/
https://keaneattorneys.com/incapacity-planning-safeguarding-your-estate-and-future/
https://www.docubank.com/}