During the upcoming Thanksgiving festivities, when your family and friends gather for hours in a cozy family home or two homes, consider that this time offers you a remarkable opportunity to determine who your key people will be in your legal documents. Who are key people – these are the people who you chose to have as your independent executor, trustee, and attorney-in-fact. If you are married, it is likely that your first choice is your spouse; however, you should have alternates listed on all your personal legal documents.
I am not suggesting you make your family holiday gathering more awkward than it typically is every year. My proposal is that you silently observe your siblings, their spouses and kids, and how everyone interacts with your child/children from the perspective of a parent removed from the situation. Siblings are not the only candidates for the role of key people. Outside of your immediate family, there are cousins and family friends to consider. Parents to choose key people candidates near their age or younger.
Thinking of your possible untimely death or disability may seem morose; however, your Will, Power of Attorney (“POA”), and Medical Power of Attorney (“Medical POA”) are legal documents in which you designate in writing people you trust to make important decisions about your child/children, your finances, your bank accounts, and vital medical decisions.
The key people you should be looking for are people that can naturally offer patience to raise your child or children in the event they become orphans. The selected key person to raise your children may not be the same key person who you select to be your “attorney-in-fact” in your POA. The key person you choose to handle your finances may not be the key person you select to make end-of-life decisions in your Medical POA.
Look on www.filislaw.com for the Will Packet prior to scheduling an appointment for a consultation.