COMING OF AGE Feature article
."...the focus needs to be on 'effective' planning to accomplish specific goals, and not just planning." - Patty Bave, Esq.
A Plan that Makes a Difference: HOW TO IMPLEMENT AN "EFFECTIVE” ESTATE AND ELDER CARE PLAN
By Patricia Bave, Esq.
06 | COMING OF AGE
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veryone talks about the need for planning, estate planning and long term care planning; and planning is very, very important. However, the focus needs to be on “effective” planning to accomplish specific goals, and not just planning. We, as estate and elder law planners, can assist a client with all the appropriate documents for an estate/elder law plan, but, if the people chosen to manage a client’s affairs during life or after death will be mired in conflict, or if a lack of communication about the plan results in resentment or conflict among the beneficiaries, the client’s goals will not be met. There will be
family discord and hardships despite the plan. And, in these times when people are living longer, any discord or hardship directly affects the client and his or her ability to age peacefully. Admittedly, when a person becomes incapacitated or dies, it is stressful and can exacerbate long standing issues among family members. This stress can lead to conflict in the form of dueling powers of attorney and health care proxies, conflicting applications for guardianship, denying access to loved ones, Will contests and more. Many times the paths to conflict began long ago when perhaps
