I occasionally get a call from a family member saying an older uncle (or aunt or grandparent, etc.) is in the hospital in a terminal condition. For instance, the grandfather has terminal cancer and is not expected to live much longer. The grandfather is heavily medicated, and goes in and out of consciousness. The person calling then asks if I can quickly prepare a new Will or Trust Amendment for the grandfather to sign before he passes.
I have found that this is just a lawsuit waiting to happen. Any estate planning that occurs at this juncture is bound to result in someone in the family being unhappy ... and having good grounds to not only unwind the death bed documents because of lack of capacity, but to bring a claim for undue influence or a violation of the vulnerable adult statute.
The wiser thing to do in such a situation is to let the person die in peace and dignity.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
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2 comments:
Estate planning is a necessity... Your assets could find themselves in the hands of the wrong people who do not deserve a share, leaving your family that needs and deserves to benefit in mess. This is because if you die without a Will, the law decides how your assets are distributed. Therefore, it is always good to Write a Will that express who you wish to leave your assets to.
Well… I visit your website first time and found this site very useful and interesting! Well… you guys doing nice work and I just want to say that keep rocking and keep it up!!!!
Barbara
estate planning
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