By H. Dennis Beaver for Kiplinger Click here to learn more and read more articles from the author.
Estate planning attorneys are getting mobbed with questions. So, here is some timely advice from three attorneys on what families and business owners should be doing to prepare in case the unimaginable happens.
The stock market has recently been in a free fall. America has not experienced this level of fear since the days of the polio epidemic in the 1940s and 1950s. During those decades, polio outbreaks in the U.S. crippled an average of more than 35,000 people yearly. Parents were frightened to let their children go outside. Travel and commerce between affected cities were restricted. Public health officials imposed quarantines on homes and towns where polio cases were found.
Sound familiar?
Now, with the coronavirus, some of those same fears are resurfacing in many ways, from health and safety to the economy, the stock market and personal finances. For many, the current crisis is serving as a wake-up call to get their estate plans in order.
The Coronavirus – Estate Planning Attorneys Kept Busy
“Suddenly business owners — from mom and pop shops to CEOs of large corporations — are meeting with estate planning lawyers like no other time than I can recall,” says Bakersfield, Calif., estate lawyer Patrick Jennison. “Appointment books are getting filled.”
Jennison’s experience is validated by estate attorneys I spoke with across the country, including Tom Hjerpe and Angela Petrusha, from Eureka, Calif. Their paralegals told me, “We are getting calls from folks who have put off establishing an estate plan and can’t wait to see us.”
Petrusha observes, “People are afraid of their entire family getting wiped out. Business owners want to be sure that a plan is in place which will assure the continuity of daily business operations.”
Over 60? You Especially Need to Plan
As this virus has a special ability of wreaking havoc on people over 60 — a segment of the population that includes many business owners and CEOs of major companies — it is critical to address the “What if I get it?” question now and not put this off, Jennison observes, asking:
“If you are a business owner, do you have a succession plan in place for the operation of your business in the event of your incapacity and the management and ownership of your business if you die?”
Establish a Power of Attorney
Another key area where people need to take action is to have a ready answer to this question: What if key decision makers as well as heads of household fall ill, become temporarily incapacitated and are not able to pay bills, taxes or take care of family and business-related financial obligations? Then what?
Hjerpe, Jennison and Petrusha each provided an identical answer: “You need a Durable Power of Attorney.”
Let’s say the virus has landed you in a hospital, or you are bottled up at home and can’t get out to take care of business and/or your ability — your mental capacity — to manage your affairs is impaired because of illness. Having a durable power of attorney in place allows a trusted friend, family member or perhaps business associate to take money out of your bank account, pay your bills, even make a court appearance for you. “That person becomes your agent — your feet on the ground — and can legally act for you, so be careful who you select,” Hjerpe stressed, adding, “Giving that power to the wrong person is an invitation to be taken to the cleaners!”
Have an Advance Health Care Directive in Place
An advance health care directive is a document that explains ho