While your initial estate plan may focus on how your assets are distributed after you are gone, a more complete estate plan should include additional components, such as incapacity planning. If you become incapacitated, someone will have to make decisions for you and take over control of your assets. To help make sure you are prepared, the Vero Beach estate planning attorneys at Kulas Crawford & Smith discuss incapacity planning within your comprehensive estate plan.
Have You Considered the Possibility of Incapacity?
If you are still relatively young, you may not have given much thought to the possibility of your own incapacity. In fact, you may think of incapacity as a problem for the elderly only. While the likelihood of incapacity does increase when you reach your retirement years, you could become incapacitated at any age because of a tragic accident or a serious illness. Because incapacity is a very real threat for everyone, incorporating an incapacity planning component into your estate plan is always a good idea.
Financial Decision-Making
To highlight the need for incapacity planning, take a moment to imagine what would happen if you were suddenly incapacitated tomorrow. Who would take over control of your assets and make financial decisions for you? If you are unmarried, the answer to that question is unclear. Even if you are married, the law does not always allow a spouse to automatically make all financial decisions for an incapacitated spouse. If you own a business, you have an even bigger problem if you fail to plan for the possibility of your incapacity. Without someone you trust having the legal authority to act on your behalf when it comes to financial decision-making, your investments, assets, and overall finances could be a mess in short order.
Fortunately, there are estate planning tools that can help. A revocable living trust, for example, is a commonly used incapacity planning tool. It works by allowing you to be the Trustee of the trust and continue to manage all assets transferred into the trust as long as you are capable of doing so. If, however, you suddenly become incapacitated, control of the trust assets automatically passes to the successor Trustee, usually a spouse, adult child, or business partner.
Medical Decision-Making
In that same incapacitation scenario, someone might need to make critical medical treatment decisions for you. Those decisions may even involve the use of life-sustaining or life-prolonging measures. If you have strong feelings about the use of such measures, you undoubtedly want your wishes honored. If you do not think ahead, a court may be forced to decide who will be in charge of medical decision-making. Not only could this result in someone not of your choosing making life and death medical decisions for you, but it could put members of your family in the position of having to litigate the issue in court, creating a family divide that may never heal.
The good news is that by executing the appropriate advance directives you can decide ahead of time who will make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them. You can even consent to or refuse certain types of medical treatment ahead of time, ensuring that your wishes will be honored even if you are unable to express them.
Can We Help Get You Prepared for the Possibility of Incapacity?
To learn more, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have additional questions or concerns about getting prepared for the possibility of incpaacity, please contact an experienced Vero Beach estate planning attorney at Kulas Crawford & Smith by calling (772) 398-0720 to schedule a consultation.
- What High-Net-Worth Families Should Know About Asset Protection in Florida - August 12, 2026
- Common Mistakes to Avoid during Florida Estate Administration - July 29, 2026
- 7 Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid in Your Florida Estate Plan - July 15, 2026