This important message was recently discussed by Rania Combs, a lawyer in Texas. While documents dealing with potential loss of capacity are often needed by seniors, they are not the only ones who may be protected by having the right legal documents in place. Click here to read Ms. Combs' article and see how the lack of incapacity documents affected the family of a 22-year-old man.
A number of years ago I handled a case in which a man in his 30s was involved in a motorcycle accident and was injured to the point that he lost capacity to deal with his own affairs. He hadn't put any documents in place to deal with future incapacity, no doubt thinking that he was too young to need them. His family members ended up going through a much more expensive and invasive legal procedure to gain legal access to manage his finances and his business.
When you see your lawyer to have your will prepared, ask about getting documents to deal with incapacity done at the same time. You will need a power of attorney for finances, and a health care directive for medical and personal issues.
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