Kiwanis Club hears from elder law attorney

A failure to plan is a plan to fail, and members of the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key learned what they can do to plan for the things in life no one wants to think about. Elder law attorney Jeanne Bennett spoke at the club’s May 6 meeting about planning for incapacitation and end-of-life care. 

“It’s a little different from an estate planning attorney, because estate planners are really concerned with what happens after death, which is important what happens with our will, what happens with our taxes, inheritance and that sort of thing,” Bennett said “But elder law attorneys are geared more towards planning for incapacity.”

Bennett went through a list of what she said are important documents and plans to consolidate, including naming a durable power of attorney and healthcare surrogate. A lot of her practice deals with guardianship. If a family member such as a spouse or child isn’t delegated, an outside guardian may be appointed. 

“While you have capacity, you name somebody whom you trust,” Bennett said. “This person is going to be able to take care of my finances, and pay my bills. Often you think of it as being a spouse … but if your spouse is incapacitated, or your spouse is pre-deceased, then you don't have a power of attorney, and then you really have to look at guardianship.”

Another one to have in place is a healthcare surrogate — the person who will make healthcare decisions. Aside from those documents, Bennett said to make sure that beneficiaries are all in order for life insurance and the doling out of assets after death.

“Have a conversation with the person that you're naming,” Bennett said. “And it's kind of a weird conversation, but it's important to make time to tell your loved ones what kind of care you want at the end of your life.”

The bottom line from Bennett was simple enough, but complicated in practice: Far before tragedy strikes, plan for the painful and awkward parts of navigating that tragedy. Check documents and beneficiaries, and compile a single place in the home where those can be accessed. This applies to long-term care, whether people want to invest in upgrades to make aging in place easier, or if they want to look into a care facility.

“When people have to move into a facility, it's an emergency, so that's when people are scrambling, and they're racing around looking at facilities, and they end up in a place where you might really not want to be,” Bennett said. “That's why you just want to think of this stuff beforehand.”