In the last few weeks, life as we have known it has been upended. The Coronavirus, COVID-19, has brought the globe to its knees and has altered many aspects of daily life—perhaps permanently. It will be some time before the full economic effects of “The Shutdown” can been measured. On a much more personal level, many of you, like myself, know someone who has been attacked by the virus. While it seems particularly harmful to the elderly or those with some underlying condition that affects the immune system, we have all heard stories of perfectly healthy individuals afflicted, some who have died, with no apparent explanation as to why that particular individual succumbed. What we do know is that, when the symptoms turn life-threatening, it happens very quickly. Many of those hospitalized need to be immediately placed on a ventilator, with no access to loved ones and no ability to communicate. The pain of not being able to speak with, or even see, a loved one while they fight for their life is unimaginable.
Recently, someone very close to me suffered this very nightmarish scenario. My friend went from having symptoms resembling a sinus infection to needing a ventilator practically overnight. This left his family scrambling to try to locate his estate planning documents. Where was his Power of Attorney so that his bills could be paid while he was on the ventilator, in a medically-induced coma? Where was his Health Care Representative form, allowing a trusted loved one to make medical decisions on his behalf as he lay fighting to survive? Did he have a Living Will and a Last Will and Testament if things took a turn for the worse? Who was legally able to make these decisions if none of these documents existed or could be found?
End-of-life planning is an awkward subject. Not many people want to face their own mortality, and even fewer are motivated to discuss it. It’s harder still for those who are young and healthy and still believe they are indestructible. One of the lessons that COVID-19 has taught us is that EVERYONE needs to have that conversation right now. Everyone needs to have their estate plan in place because we never know when it may be our turn, and we may not have the time or opportunity to put our affairs in order. Even if you have no assets to pass along, having a plan in place for medical emergencies, and to provide for the care and supervision of your children, is absolutely critical.
A General Power of Attorney will allow a trusted friend or family member to handle your financial affairs for you if you are unable. A Health Care Representative form allows you to appoint someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself. Your Last Will and Testament not only controls distribution of your assets, but it also can declare who you would prefer to care for your kids. Please do not leave this up to the hospital or the courts—take care of it now.
The attorneys at McKinney & Malapit Law are here to help you put your plan in place. Call us, email us, make an appointment for a phone or video conference consult. The Indiana Supreme Court has recently amended the rules so that these documents can be executed and witnessed during a video conference call so that it is not necessary, for the time being at least, that the parties even be in a room together. The pandemic has given all of us the opportunity to take care of things that we may have been putting off—do not delay this any further. Please stay safe.
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