Estate Planning During the COVID-19 Pandemic
None of us expected to be under a stay-at-home order for weeks on end, yet here we are. We generally do not like to think about these types of things happening, just as we do not like to think about, let alone plan for, the fact that our deaths will occur, either sooner or later. Usually we are so busy with work, family, and the myriad of other activities that fight for the precious minutes of our days that we take the Scarlet O’Hara approach in thinking about and planning for death. We simply proclaim that we will worry about that another day. These many days on end of isolating at home and social distancing, however, have driven home the very real possibility that the unexpected can happen; that life can change in an instant.
If over the years you have put off either getting an estate plan in place or updating your outdated estate plan, time is on your side right now. Your estate plan can provide for such things as who will settle your affairs after your death, who will receive your property upon your death, and in what shares and under what conditions your assets will pass to your beneficiaries. Your estate plan can also provide for who will pay your bills, manage your property, and make health care decisions for you if at some point during your life you are unable to do those things for yourself due to a temporary or permanent incapacity. As you are unable to get out of the house to go to work and to do so many of the daily activities that normally consume your limited time, perhaps you could take some time to consider your estate planning. As an estate planning attorney, it is my responsibility to help clients think about and provide for various “what if“ scenarios during lifetime or following death. Even in the face of the pandemic and social distancing, there are ways to discuss these estate planning issues with your attorney and to execute estate planning documents without actually meeting in-person at all.
Although you may not be able to meet in-person with your estate planning attorney due to the COVID-19 risks, with the technology available to us today, combined with various COVID-19 orders in the State of Indiana, there are creative ways that you can still “meet” to discuss your options and wishes and to execute your new or updated estate planning documents.
Take advantage of this gift of time to address your estate plan. If COVID-19 has shown us anything, it is that the unexpected does happen. Although death is usually unexpected, it is also, unfortunately, inevitable, and incapacity can and does occur in many peoples’ lives. Take this opportunity to prepare for them, not only for yourself, but also for your loved ones.