Bust out those library cards or fire up the e-reader, we have your latest and greatest GoFisch Book Club read for November! We hope you enjoyed the October pick, but now we’re shifting gears to a fictional tale with some salient real-world estate planning tie-ins…plus it’s a National Book Award Finalist, so you know it’s good! Waiting for Eden, by Elliot Ackerman, features a wife who is perpetually present at the bedside of Eden, her husband, when he comes to after being in a coma for years. Eden was badly injured while serving in the marines in the Middle East. When he becomes conscious after his coma, the bulk of his body is marked with the aftermath of burns, and he’s unable to talk, hear, or see. He’s never met his daughter and Mary, the wife, has to grapple with the decision to extend Eden’s semblance of a life further or turn off the life support that keeps him immobilized. As the story unfolds, truth about the marriage come to life and we’re forced to face the question of what makes a life a life? What makes it worth living?
The primary themes are love, marriage, and tough health care choices when someone’s faculties are reduced to next to nothing can be heavy. But, they’re also super important consider. Ackerman created military fiction without it being a straight “military” storyline. (But, if you do like military-related reads, you get a dose of it from the perspective of a friend of the main couple who died in the same war accident Eden was injured in.)
The life/death situation presented in Waiting for Eden is rare, and hopefully you and no one you know ever has deal anything remotely similar. But, if you are in the position of making difficult health care decisions for a loved one, it’s better to know exactly what their choice and intent would have been had they not incapacitated. This is where the health care power of attorney comes in.
A health care power of attorney (PoA) is a legal document that allows you to select the person (your “agent”) that you want to make health care decisions on your behalf, if or when you become unable to make them for yourself.
Once your health care PoA goes into effect (typically most people elect to have this be the case only if an attending physician certifies you are unable to make medical decisions independently), your agent will then be able to make decisions for you based on the information you provided in your health care PoA. If there are no specifics in your health care PoA relating to a unique situation, your agent can and should make health care decisions for you based on your best interests. Obviously, the person you select as a your health care PoA agent should be someone in whom you have the utmost trust.
Equally important, your agent will be able to access your medical records, communicate with your health care providers, and so on.
Keep in mind your health care PoA isn’t just about end-of-life decisions; it can cover many types of medical situations and decisions. For instance, you may choose to address organ donation, hospitalization, treatment in a nursing home, home health care, psychiatric treatment, and other situations in your health care PoA.
Living Will
For people who feel strongly about not wanting to be kept alive with machines, specifically covered in a document that can be thought of as a part of your health care PoA known as a living will.
All Iowans are special and unique and have special and unique issues and concerns. It’s completely up to YOU as to what’s contained in your health care PoA. You name the agent(s). You decide what medical decisions will be covered and how. It’s all up to you.
If Eden would have had such a document executed before he went to war with Mary named as his representative, the situation still would have been tragic, but the decision less disconcerting. But, the book probably would have been less of a captivating tale of friendship, love, and what it means to be human. If you can, however, save your loved ones confusion and uncertainty, plan ahead for the unexpected with a quality, clear health care power of attorney.
What are you thoughts on Waiting for Eden? Share your thoughts with other readers in the comments below or with GFLF on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!
https://www.gordonfischerlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Screen-Shot-2018-11-02-at-7.00.58-PM.png577913Gordon Fischerhttps://www.gordonfischerlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GFLF-logo-300x141.pngGordon Fischer2018-11-01 07:24:112020-05-18 11:28:50Pick up the November Book Club Read: Waiting for Eden
On Halloween (10/31) my voice will be making a radio appearance on KCJJ 1630 AM‘s “Senior Talk” program hosted by Rex Brandstatter! We’ll be talking on the importance of estate planning for seniors, as well as the need-to-know information that ALL Iowans should know about creating a successful, quality plan for the future.
The program starts at 12:10 p.m. and will last for about 30 minutes. If you won’t be around a radio over the noon hour on 10/31, don’t worry as you can listen live via KCJJ’s YouTube channel. Plus, the program will be archived on YouTube after the show!
https://www.gordonfischerlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Screen-Shot-2018-10-31-at-6.47.09-AM.png6591038Gordon Fischerhttps://www.gordonfischerlawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GFLF-logo-300x141.pngGordon Fischer2018-10-30 06:35:382020-05-18 11:28:50Tune In to Hear Gordon on the Radio
So many things in life come with built-in expiration dates. Some, such eggs, milk, and cheese, are clearly stamped, while other common items (everything from spices, fire extinguishers, lipstick, to hard liquor) lose their quality or effectiveness over time, but don’t have a clear “best used by” date on them.
So, how about an estate plan? If your running shoes can expire, how about important legal documents? This is a common and certainly valid question.
You will never receive a notice in the mail that your carefully crafted estate plan is set to expire in 30 days if you don’t submit another signed form or check payment. However, I highly recommend revisiting your estate plan annually to make certain life changes over the past year are appropriately reflected. For example, having a child, getting married or divorced, moving to another state, changes in financial circumstances, and other major life events necessitate revisiting your estate plan. After all, estate planning documents can be changed up until the moment you pass away.
Since these legal documents do not expire, there’s no better time than now to get started on your estate plan. The best place to start? Download my Estate Plan Questionnaire; it’s free and provided at no obligation!
Pick up the November Book Club Read: Waiting for Eden
Book Club, Wills, Trusts & EstatesBust out those library cards or fire up the e-reader, we have your latest and greatest GoFisch Book Club read for November! We hope you enjoyed the October pick, but now we’re shifting gears to a fictional tale with some salient real-world estate planning tie-ins…plus it’s a National Book Award Finalist, so you know it’s good! Waiting for Eden, by Elliot Ackerman, features a wife who is perpetually present at the bedside of Eden, her husband, when he comes to after being in a coma for years. Eden was badly injured while serving in the marines in the Middle East. When he becomes conscious after his coma, the bulk of his body is marked with the aftermath of burns, and he’s unable to talk, hear, or see. He’s never met his daughter and Mary, the wife, has to grapple with the decision to extend Eden’s semblance of a life further or turn off the life support that keeps him immobilized. As the story unfolds, truth about the marriage come to life and we’re forced to face the question of what makes a life a life? What makes it worth living?
The primary themes are love, marriage, and tough health care choices when someone’s faculties are reduced to next to nothing can be heavy. But, they’re also super important consider. Ackerman created military fiction without it being a straight “military” storyline. (But, if you do like military-related reads, you get a dose of it from the perspective of a friend of the main couple who died in the same war accident Eden was injured in.)
The life/death situation presented in Waiting for Eden is rare, and hopefully you and no one you know ever has deal anything remotely similar. But, if you are in the position of making difficult health care decisions for a loved one, it’s better to know exactly what their choice and intent would have been had they not incapacitated. This is where the health care power of attorney comes in.
About Health Care Power of Attorney
A health care power of attorney (PoA) is a legal document that allows you to select the person (your “agent”) that you want to make health care decisions on your behalf, if or when you become unable to make them for yourself.
Once your health care PoA goes into effect (typically most people elect to have this be the case only if an attending physician certifies you are unable to make medical decisions independently), your agent will then be able to make decisions for you based on the information you provided in your health care PoA. If there are no specifics in your health care PoA relating to a unique situation, your agent can and should make health care decisions for you based on your best interests. Obviously, the person you select as a your health care PoA agent should be someone in whom you have the utmost trust.
Equally important, your agent will be able to access your medical records, communicate with your health care providers, and so on.
Keep in mind your health care PoA isn’t just about end-of-life decisions; it can cover many types of medical situations and decisions. For instance, you may choose to address organ donation, hospitalization, treatment in a nursing home, home health care, psychiatric treatment, and other situations in your health care PoA.
Living Will
For people who feel strongly about not wanting to be kept alive with machines, specifically covered in a document that can be thought of as a part of your health care PoA known as a living will.
All Iowans are special and unique and have special and unique issues and concerns. It’s completely up to YOU as to what’s contained in your health care PoA. You name the agent(s). You decide what medical decisions will be covered and how. It’s all up to you.
If Eden would have had such a document executed before he went to war with Mary named as his representative, the situation still would have been tragic, but the decision less disconcerting. But, the book probably would have been less of a captivating tale of friendship, love, and what it means to be human. If you can, however, save your loved ones confusion and uncertainty, plan ahead for the unexpected with a quality, clear health care power of attorney.
What are you thoughts on Waiting for Eden? Share your thoughts with other readers in the comments below or with GFLF on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!
Tune In to Hear Gordon on the Radio
Estates & Estate Planning, From Gordon's Desk...On Halloween (10/31) my voice will be making a radio appearance on KCJJ 1630 AM‘s “Senior Talk” program hosted by Rex Brandstatter! We’ll be talking on the importance of estate planning for seniors, as well as the need-to-know information that ALL Iowans should know about creating a successful, quality plan for the future.
The program starts at 12:10 p.m. and will last for about 30 minutes. If you won’t be around a radio over the noon hour on 10/31, don’t worry as you can listen live via KCJJ’s YouTube channel. Plus, the program will be archived on YouTube after the show!
Hopefully my conversation will Rex will inspire you (and all of your family members and friends) to send those estate planning excuses to the graveyard. (Sorry, I had to get at least one spooky pun in there!) One of the best ways to get started on my five-step estate planning process is with the easy, free Estate Planning Questionnaire.
Do Estate Plans Have an Expiration Date?
Estates & Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts & EstatesSo many things in life come with built-in expiration dates. Some, such eggs, milk, and cheese, are clearly stamped, while other common items (everything from spices, fire extinguishers, lipstick, to hard liquor) lose their quality or effectiveness over time, but don’t have a clear “best used by” date on them.
So, how about an estate plan? If your running shoes can expire, how about important legal documents? This is a common and certainly valid question.
As bill-paying Americans, it seems par-for-the-course that like everything else, we need to routinely file paperwork, with payment(s), to keep coverage in place. Fortunately, estate planning documents do not expire. Once valid, such legal documents are effective for, well, for as long as you want. This includes all documents that could (and probably should) be in your estate plan, such as a will, health care power of attorney, financial power of attorney, instructions for disposition of personal property, and instructions for final disposition of remains.
You will never receive a notice in the mail that your carefully crafted estate plan is set to expire in 30 days if you don’t submit another signed form or check payment. However, I highly recommend revisiting your estate plan annually to make certain life changes over the past year are appropriately reflected. For example, having a child, getting married or divorced, moving to another state, changes in financial circumstances, and other major life events necessitate revisiting your estate plan. After all, estate planning documents can be changed up until the moment you pass away.
Since these legal documents do not expire, there’s no better time than now to get started on your estate plan. The best place to start? Download my Estate Plan Questionnaire; it’s free and provided at no obligation!
I would love to discuss your estate plan with you. Reach out at any time by email, gordon@gordonfischerlawfirm.com, or cell phone, 515-371-6077.