The Advantages Of Living Wills And Living Trusts

When planning for our future we have to assess and decide the route to take and choices to make among a number of potential possibilities. At the very least, doing this planning prepares you, and your family, for that which is inevitable for all of us. Also, planning allows you to formulate your decisions level-headedly, before a catstrophic event when everyone, yourself included, is able to think clearly. Before the event is the time when you can take the time necessary to make good decisions based on all the information available to you, and express your wishes for the benefit of those who will be making decisions on your behalf at some difficult and emotional time in the future.

Even far before the event, however, it is not strange to imagine the task being emotionally charged, which makes it all the more inviting to get it done while in a sound mind, when the largest number of positive factors are in your mind. But, before you start putting down wishes and options ahead of time, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the advantages of living wills, and living trusts. Many people incorrectly believe they are the same when they actually serve two different purposes, and you will wish to make a wise choice between the two.

Living Wills

A living will is simply a document which contains instructions concerning your health care preferences, in the event of a future health care emergency, set down in black and white. Your immediate family members, as well as your health care provider, will refer to these advance directives if you're incapable of making of expressing your decisions about medical treatment.

Anyone who has reached the legal age, generally about 18 or 19, may draw up his or her own living will, provided that he or she is also of sound mind.

For most people, the single most important advantage of preparing a living will is that it allows you to state your preferences on such vital subjects as life support measures, extreme medical interventions, and other medical treatment options. As it often happens, your family and friends may not feel the same way as you about these matters, and the creation of such a legal document gives you an opportunity to confer with them and make your wishes known.

Doing something like this ahead of time also gives you the final say in the matter, saving loved ones, and medical staff, from possibly having to make agonizing decisions in the event you are unable to express your views because of your condition.

You also get an opportunity to justify how your ethical and moral values influenced your decisions. This will give loved ones, and medical treatment providers as well, with a better insight into what you would ultimately want to come about in such difficult situations.

Unfortunately, should you be without a living will in some terrible future situation, your immediate family members could face the possibility of paying large hospital bills after having had to make some heart-renching decisions. In additions, your savings account, or estate, could also be depleted to the point of bankruptcy.

The creation of a living will allows you to safeguard your family from the additional burden of straining financial resources to pay for your hospital bills and costs of medical treatment, in the event that recovering from your condition becomes impossible.

In addition to relieving loved ones, or your estate, from the excess financial obligations of a severe medical event, living wills also eliminate the likelihood of disagreements when trying to reach agreement about your medical treatment. Instead of finding themselves arguing among themselves to determine what's best for you, your family can concentrate more on accepting the inevitability of your situation, and can come together in support of your decicision.

Living Trusts

A living will provides an advance directive pertaining to medical treatment in the event of a catastrophic situation in which you are incapable of expressing your wishes as to health treatment. On the other hand, a living trust is more of a financial planning tool. The living trust is a legally binding arrangement that places all your assets in a trust, hence the name.

More often than not, the grantor, or creator of the living trust (normally...well...you), also serves as the trustee. You may, if you wish, also appoint another person or institution to act as a trustee as well in case you should lose interest in the duty, or become incapacitated, and thus unable to fulfill your obligations under the terms of the trust.

Among its advantages, a living trust allows you to manage your properties for the purpose of generating profits for your beneficiaries. In addition, it makes it possible for you to conserve or look after your assets' growth at the same time.

Another obvious advantage of a living trust is the probability of reducing estate taxes and controlling the administration or use of the assets long after the grantor has departed from the world of the living. These often simple legal documents can also offer protection for the beneficiaries against creditors.

The advantages of living wills and living trusts are numerous...too numerous to enumerate in this small article. So before its too late, safeguard yourself and your family from the harsh reality of the inevitable and from the fact that things could turn out real bad without proper planning and consider preparing BOTH a living will AND a living trust.