It is important that you make plans for what will happen to your family and your possessions after you pass away. It is also important to plan for what will happen to them, if you are incapacitated.
You might be aware that you need a will or a trust, so you can make sure your family is taken care of after you pass away. Getting a will or trust also lets you determine what happens to your property after you pass away.
While you are at the attorney's office, you should also get plans for what might happen if you become incapacitated, as the Times Herald-Record discusses in "Make plans in case you are incapacitated."
The issue is that if you are incapacitated, someone else needs the legal authority to act on your behalf.
Someone will need to be able to handle your bills and to make medical decisions for you, should it be necessary.
If you do not plan ahead, it can be a difficult process for someone else to get the legal authority.
Someone will have to hire an attorney and go to court to get a judge's permission to act as your guardian.
Fortunately, planning for what will happen if you become incapacitated is not difficult.
You just need a general durable power of attorney and a health care power of attorney.
The estate planning attorney can prepare both of them for you.
Reference: Times Herald-Record (Dec. 12, 2017) "Make plans in case you are incapacitated."