Estate Planning and Coronavirus
March 13, 2020
Publications
At McNees we understand that the last few weeks have been anxious ones as our clients and their loved ones navigate the onset of Coronavirus COVID-19 and volatile financial markets. Our first priority is the health and safety of our clients, as well as our staff and paraprofessionals. Of course, in the Estate Planning Group, we are also reminded of the importance and purpose of a well-considered estate plan and its constituent parts.
Your Durable General Power of Attorney and Health Care Power of Attorney can be very important in times like these. Your Durable General Power of Attorney allows your appointed agent to deal with third parties with respect to financial and other matters. This could be important in dealing with professional advisors, such as your accountant or financial advisor. Your Durable Health Care Power of Attorney allow your agent to make health care decisions for you if needed and, perhaps more importantly, allows your agent to receive protected health care information from health care providers (information covered by HIPAA).
Simply having those documents on hand can be comforting in uncertain times. Many clients keep copies of critical documents in electronic form on digital devices such as a phone or tablet. Please do not hesitate to ask us for copies of any of your documents at any time. We will be happy to get them to you in any form, hard copy or electronic.
As always, the Estate Planning Group at McNees is ready, willing, and able to advise our clients. If you have any questions, please contact any member of our group. Please know that we are always available to address any questions by phone or email.
