COVID-19

What's the Difference Between a Will and a Living Will?

What's the Difference Between a Will and a Living Will?

Lawyers love to be confusing.

We use insane-sounding words from Latin and Greek and some other languages that I’m pretty sure are completely made up.

Words such as testator, force majeure, per stirpes, and inter vivos.

Our words are so weird, we have to italicize them.

So I’m not surprised when someone asks me whether a Last Will and Testament and a Living Will are the same thing.

After all, both documents have “Will” in their names, right? It would only be reasonable to think that they are similar.

But they are not similar. They are very, very different.

So I’m going to cut through the legal jargon and explain the differences between Wills and Living Wills — and help you decide which one might be best for you.

Last Will and Testament vs. Living Will

Before diving into specifics, it’s first helpful to know how to define estate planning:

An estate plan ensures (1) that the right people are able to care for your SELF in the event you become incapacitated and (2) that the right people are able to get your STUFF in the event of your death.

Every estate planning tool fits into one of those two categories, and a good estate plan should address both areas of focus.

And as luck would have it, I will be discussing both categories in this post.

7 Estate Planning Tips for Quarantine

7 Estate Planning Tips for Quarantine

What a strange time to be alive.

Some people have been in quarantine for nearly two months, while others are still adjusting after “only” (those are sarcastic quotation marks) a few weeks in isolation.

No matter which way you slice it, Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected all of us.

I’ve talked with a lot of people over the past month who desperately want to create or update their estate plans to deal with Coronavirus but who don’t want to go to an attorney’s office.

Although I have written before about the dangers of “Do It Yourself” estate planning, here are 7 things you can do during quarantine to organize your affairs WITHOUT needing to leave home:

1. Draft a letter of instruction.

If you died today, would your representatives know how to settle your estate?

The purpose of an estate planning letter of instruction is to provide information to help guide your loved ones or other representatives through the process of settling your affairs.

I’m not talking about advice regarding probate or other legal matters. I’m talking about information that isn’t included in any of the documents you will get from an attorney.

A letter of instruction can answer questions such as:

Coronavirus: Why You Need a Power of Attorney

Coronavirus: Why You Need a Power of Attorney

Unless you have been living in a bubble (which might actually be a good idea), you have heard about the novel Coronavirus, or COVID-19, which the World Health Organization has declared to be a pandemic.

It’s a scary time in the world, and this article isn’t intended to make things scarier.

On the contrary.

My goal is to help you get some peace of mind. Because even though this health crisis has left many of us feeling helpless, there are a few simple — yet incredibly important — legal tools that can make a HUGE difference for you and your loved ones.

Estate Planning Matters Now More Than Ever

Coronavirus is not an ordinary virus.

It can ultimately cause respiratory failure, requiring patients to be intubated and put on a ventilator. (You know, that thing hospitals are running low on?)

For many, that’s the most frightening aspect of this pandemic: it can cause temporary or permanent incapacity, i.e., the inability to care for or make decisions for yourself.