DO I Need A Will?

[Butterfly]

Thanks, Butterfly. You are correct. 'Holographic' is what I meant but I do believe - in most states - when done correctly (fully handwritten and properly witnessed and notarized) would stand if there are no challenges. It is certainly not desirable but better than nothing.

People should check their state law before relying on a holographic will. My state no longer recognizes them, and hasn't done so for years.

 

[mathjak107]

Terry 123 and I are not talking about trusts. We are talking about pay-on-death beneficiaries. My state also has a transfer on death deed (a fairly new thing here) where you execute such a deed which transfers the particular real property to the beneficiary immediately by operation of law upon your death and the filing of a death certificate. This deed no effect upon the ownership or either party's interest in the real property during the life of the grantor, and is revocable by the grantor at any time before his/her death, and is no way related to a trust.

I do not believe anyone should even think about venturing into a trust without a knowledgeable attorney, I would equate it with trying to take out your own appendix.

trusts can be far worse when things go wrong .

we ran in to a trust which had a sentence missing pertaining to predeceasing in the document that ended up being a real killer .

my wife's first husband who passed away had kids from a prior marriage who were estranged from the family .

well my wife's father in law specifically wrote these kids out of all inheritance by name .

they were to get nothing he said in the documents .

so my wife's father in law dies and for now every thing goes to her mother inlaw .

well while her mother in law was still alive my wifes husband dies . at that point they inherited nothing because the mother in law is still alive .

well once she dies the documents have to clear tax court to show taxes were all paid on the estate .

the court realizes that because my wife's husband died before his mother there are no provisions in the trust for what happens if someone predeceases so they opened a can of worms .

it was clear as a bell those step kids were to get nothing. but as the judge said , he cannot add missing verbiage or re-wrire history . so those kids had to be notified there was a will and trust from their grand father that had defects . needless to say they got a lawyer and an expensive court battle now went on . in the end they got a piece even though grandpa ruled them out .

turns out the attorney who did the paperwork was not an estate attorney and just did my wife's inlaws a favor using canned documents . when our estate attorney saw these canned documents he laughed because any estate attorneyy would have seen the flaws in a second .

 

[Lethe200]

>>(from Butterfly) We call it a health care directive.>>

No, a POLST form is not called a healthcare directive. Medical staff should refer to it as a POLST. Specifically:

"Differences between an advance directive and a POLST Form: Unlike advance directives, a POLST summarizes the patients' wishes in the form of medical orders. An advance directive is a legal document that allows you to share your wishes with your health care team if you can't speak for yourself."

See question #6 in the FAQ link, below. The POLST form was created to supplement the advance directive/healthcare power of attorney as an expansion and substitution for the DNR (do not resuscitate) order. There have been a number of cases where the DNR was ignored by emergency teams or waived by healthcare agents; thus the POLST form was developed for those who are seriously ill, to cover multiple situations.

POLST FAQs: http://www.polst.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016.04.03-POLST-FAQs.pdf

 

[Butterfly]

>>(from Butterfly) We call it a health care directive.>>

No, a POLST form is not called a healthcare directive. Medical staff should refer to it as a POLST. Specifically:

"Differences between an advance directive and a POLST Form: Unlike advance directives, a POLST summarizes the patients' wishes in the form of medical orders. An advance directive is a legal document that allows you to share your wishes with your health care team if you can't speak for yourself."

See question #6 in the FAQ link, below. The POLST form was created to supplement the advance directive/healthcare power of attorney as an expansion and substitution for the DNR (do not resuscitate) order. There have been a number of cases where the DNR was ignored by emergency teams or waived by healthcare agents; thus the POLST form was developed for those who are seriously ill, to cover multiple situations.

POLST FAQs: http://www.polst.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016.04.03-POLST-FAQs.pdf

Well, what we call a healthcare directive here contains all those things, directing the physicians how to handle various situations, including brain death,, etc., and a copy is placed in the patient's medical record. it is different than an advance healthcare directive, which is much more general.

I don't think it matters what we call it, as long as we direct our physicians as to how we wish to be treated in a medical crisis, or at the end of life.

 

[mathjak107]

healthcare proxies look simple but they to can become invalid all to quickly unknowingly .

as our attorney told us :

[FONT=&quot]. The health care proxy is a document that allows an individual (the “principal”) to appoint an agent to make health care decisions in case he/she becomes incapacitated. The main purpose of the health care proxy is to appoint an agent. There is a presumption that the agent knows the principal’s wishes. Nonetheless, according to New York State case law, if a principal’s wishes regarding the withholding of artificial nutrition and hydration are not articulated, an agent will not be able to make such decision. Based on this case law, it is imperative for the principal to set forth his/her wishes regarding the administering of artificial nutrition and hydration either in the actual health care proxy or in a separate living will. Failure to do this can result in unforeseen consequences – which is exactly what the principal was trying to avoid in the first place. Secondly, many individuals erroneously believe that they can appoint more than one agent at a time on a health care proxy. This would make the document faulty because only one agent at a time can make medical decisions. A person drafting a health care proxy can add language to avoid insulting other family members, but again- this requires the help of someone with experience. Finally, the document must be witnessed by two individuals in order for it to be validly recognized. A person should not have his agent, spouse or child be a witness to the signing.[/FONT]