Arranging your estate has become more complicated in the recent past.
A few decades ago, a simple 'last will and testament' was enough for most people to insure that all their affairs were taken care of.
These days, those in the upper class are flocking to living trusts, which have their own set of difficulties.
In addition, everyone is affected by increased health issues and how they affect your estate planning.
While it is true that people are living longer today than ever before, and on balance that's a great thing, there is an unintended consequence; more people are also developing health conditions that leave them either physically or mentally incapacitated.
This has added another dimension to the estate planning process; the growing popularity of living wills.
A living will is essentially a directive that is set up for the purpose of determining what treatments you may or may not want and what surgeries to have if there comes a day when you are unable to make these choices on your own.
In some states, this document is also referred to as a healthcare power of attorney with medical directive.
You can set it up on your own, but this is one of those legal documents that you may be better off using the services of an estate planning attorney for.
Here's why.
Think about all the possible medical conditions that can occur that may leave you without the ability to decide on the kind of care you should have.
You may have thought of 5 or 10 off the top of your head.
But there are at least 10 times that many (or more) that could occur.
For this reason, it helps greatly to have a professional who is experienced in this area to sit down and go through everything with you.
Your estate planning lawyer will be familiar with all the possible scenarios that you would not have come up with on your own.
He will also be able to explain it all in layman's terms so you can understand them clearly and decide what is best for you.
For example, there may be certain situations where you prefer not to have a major surgery, and would rather have a pain killer instead.
There may also come a time when you are clinically dead but being kept alive on a respirator.
These days, many people do not want to remain in a vegetative state.
But - if there is no written directive, your family members will likely be the ones to decide.
And if there is a dispute among them (think Terry Schiavo circa 2005), then it will likely be fought out in court, potentially causing a lot of bad blood among family members.
With this one document known as a living will, you can put an end to all the speculation about what you 'would have wanted', because it will all be there in writing.
This makes the living will a truly essential estate planning document for the modern age.