Estate Planning Attorney

Our mortality may be an uncomfortable prospect to face, but it’s also a natural and inevitable part of life. Carefully planning for the distribution of your estate assets after you pass is the best way to ensure that your family’s financial future is taken care of. However, when one of your heirs struggles with addiction, has reduced capacity due to mental illness, or is affected by other behavioral health issues, your estate planning will need to take this into account to ensure that their well-being is protected after you pass.

The experienced estate planning attorneys at Astor Simovitch Law are renowned for their specialist expertise in helping families to tailor their estate planning to the unique needs of their beneficiaries. For estate planning lawyers who are dedicated to helping you ensure your loved one’s best interests will be looked after in your absence, our firm is your first port of call.

Why Do I Need An Estate Planning Attorney With Behavioral Health Law Expertise?

Estate planning is a complex process that requires a sound understanding of the various legal instruments available for ensuring that your assets will be distributed according to your wishes. The decisions you make as you draw up your estate plans can have a profound impact on the welfare of your loved ones, and it is essential that you have an experienced and highly qualified estate planning attorney to help you throughout the process. Having sound legal advice becomes even more important when you need to take family members’ unique needs into consideration in your estate planning.

For example, if one of your heirs battles with addiction, you will want to ensure that any assets you leave to them are used towards caring for their well-being and supporting their journey to recovery. For those struggling with substance abuse disorders, receiving a large windfall is likely to be counterproductive to their journey towards sobriety. Similarly, if a loved one has a history of severe mental illness which impacts their ability to make sound decisions, you will want to ensure that any inheritance you leave to them is managed on their behalf. If you presently care for a child with mental or physical incapacities, you will also need to make special arrangements for their future care in your estate plan. Partnering with an estate planning attorney who has specialist experience in dealing with the legal considerations pertaining to addiction, mental illness and behavioral health will give you peace of mind that your family’s particular circumstances will be appropriately catered for in your will.

Key Estate Planning Instruments For Protecting Your Loved One’s Well-being

Every person’s estate planning needs are unique, because estate planning is dependent on the circumstances of your family, your asset profile, and any special preferences you may have. There are a variety of legal instruments available that can be tailored to suit your particular concerns and priorities, such as wills, testamentary trusts, guardianship arrangements, powers of attorney, living wills, and healthcare surrogacies. The estate planning attorneys at Astor Simovitch Law have a wealth of experience in using these instruments to help clients cater to their loved one’s unique health circumstances through their estate planning.

Wills

A Last Will and Testament is the most basic estate planning tool. It allows you to name your beneficiaries (heirs) and set out what you wish for each of them to inherit, nominate a Personal Representative who will be responsible for administering your estate, and record any additional special provisions, such as nominating a guardian to care for your minor children, or setting up a testamentary trust. Without a will, your assets will be distributed according to Florida’s intestate succession laws, which means that your personal wishes for the distribution of your estate may not be respected. A detailed, clearly drafted will is the foundation of most estate plans, so it is essential to consult an estate planning attorney who is capable of translating your wishes and concerns into a legally valid document.

Testamentary Trusts

Trusts are a very common and highly effective means for ensuring that your loved one’s well-being is protected after you pass. For example, if one of your beneficiaries struggles with addiction, you may want to ensure that they can only access their inheritance after a period of sobriety, or you may wish to stipulate that their inheritance be paid to them on an installment basis rather than as a lump sum. If your loved one suffers from severe mental illness, you may want to nominate a person to manage their inheritance on their behalf. In these circumstances, a testamentary trust is an excellent option. A testamentary trust only comes into existence after your death, through special provisions in your will. The trust is capitalized on your passing from the assets remaining in your estate or a life policy, and then managed by a trustee who will administer and distribute the trust assets for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries.

Your estate planning attorney will consult with you on your loved one’s particular behavioral health needs and draw up a trust deed that caters to them accordingly. They might recommend, for example, that the trust deed includes a condition that requires your loved one to pass a drug test at random intervals to access the trust assets. The trust deed might also include certain incentives to help ensure that your loved one gets the treatment they need. Your attorney will also help you to nominate an appropriate trustee. In many cases, it is preferable for the trustee to be an independent party rather than a family member, as this helps to reduce the risk of family conflict. Your choice of trustee is also important because they will be the person responsible for distributing the trust assets and ensuring your wishes are respected.

Guardianship

In the event that you pass away before your child reaches adulthood, you want to be certain that their best interests will be protected and their needs met in your absence. Nominating a guardian who will be responsible for their care and who will manage their access to their inheritance is an effective way to ensure peace of mind that your child will be well taken care of. Further considerations come into play when nominating a guardian for a child who has behavioral health issues, as their guardian will need to be well-equipped to deal with the unique challenges this may present. Your estate planning attorney can help you determine who might be a suitable candidate given your child’s particular needs.

Powers Of Attorney, Living Wills And Healthcare Surrogacies

Though your primary concern may be your loved one’s future well-being, it is also imperative that you consider potential changes to your own capacity. Estate planning instruments such as powers of attorney (POAs) are an effective way to ensure that your interests will be taken care of in the event that you become incapacitated due to disease (such as Alzheimer’s or dementia), injury, or illness. A POA allows you to nominate a trusted individual who will manage your affairs on your behalf if you no longer have the capacity to do so yourself, and make decisions relating to your medical treatment, residence, and finances. Your estate planning attorney will be able to draft a comprehensive POA that caters to the particular eventualities you are concerned about.

A living will is another important estate planning tool that your estate planning attorney may recommend. It allows you to dictate, in advance, the medical treatment that you wish to receive should you become incapacitated through terminal illness, injury, or cognitive decline. They also allow you to state the circumstances under which you would want life-sustaining medical treatment to be withdrawn. Living wills are often accompanied by healthcare surrogacies. A healthcare surrogate designation allows you to nominate a person who will make medical decisions on your behalf should you no longer be capable of making them yourself. These are very useful documents, because not every possible medical scenario can be preempted in a living will.

Experienced Estate Planning Attorneys In Boca Raton, FL

At Astor Simovitch Law, we have years of experience working with families navigating loved ones’ behavioral health issues. We understand the emotional and practical complexities that present themselves when trying to cater to the best interest of a loved one battling drug addiction, or a child with debilitating mental illness.

Our expertise in these matters make us the firm of choice for individuals who need reliable legal advice on how to address these and similar circumstances in their estate planning. Our estate planning attorneys are renowned for their expertise in mental health law and compassionate client service, and will be able to guide you through the difficult choices that estate planning can present.

For peace of mind that your wishes will be respected and your family cared for after your passing, call us today at 561-419-6095 to arrange a consultation.