Have you ever wondered what would happen if you became incapacitated? Incapacity, or incompetency, means that you become either mentally or physically unable to take care of yourself or your day-to-day affairs. To be more precise, you would be unable to take care of your property and yourself and you would be unable to communicate rationally about decisions as to how to do this if you cannot.
Incapacity is a result from serious physical injury, mental or physical illness, mental disability, advanced age and/or alcohol or drug abuse. Although medical science has increased life expectancies, it also has increased the possibility that you will live long enough to become incapacitated. Old age can bring senility, Alzheimer’s disease, or simply the waning of an ability to make a quick and/or rational decision.
Unless you have authorized someone to carry on your affairs in the event of your incapacity, a relative or friend may need to ask the court to appoint a guardian. While you might think that you are years away from becoming incapacitated, an unforeseen accident and a coma can put you in that situation at any time.
When you do not authorize someone to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated, your medical care providers are obligated to prolong your life, even with artificial means, for as long as you respond to such care. In the situation of a coma, you could remain in an incapacitated state for years. Such a decision can devastate your estate, monies that you may rather see go to someone you care about.
If you really want to protect your family and your estate, you would plan now to appoint someone to manage your estate. You might also look into four common incapacity documents. If you make these decisions now, you can avoid a court-appointed guardian that you may not know nor trust.
The Los Angeles Times recently ran