Will & Living Will

[StepInGA]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA

3 weeks ago my husband was diagnosed with stage 3 throat cancer. There is a very real chance that he will not survive.

He asked that I find what information I could on both a will and living will for him.

Would you recommend that he needs both of these documents? Is it feasable that we could write a will ourselves? How would we go about doing that?

Are there any other documents that you would recommend we fill out in case he does not survive?

He has 2 children. One from our marriage and one from his first marriage. Is there anything else he would need besides a will to make sure his children are taken care of?

Thanks so much for any advice you can give.

 

[Florida Lawyer]

First my condolences on the diagnosis and prayers for recovery. You are facing a very difficult time, and appear to be handling it well. It is very commendable to put your husbands affairs in order.

With regard to the Will, it is possible these days to draft Wills yourself. However, these Will kits that are advertised very rarely are sufficient for anyone with needs beyond designating that "all assets go here". In the situation you pose, I see that that there are children from previous marriages (who I presume are minors?), and he has obligations to you and the child you have together. There are several ways that he can provide for all of these children and you through a Will, and depending on the amount of assets in question, some are more technical than others.

Your husband should also consider any provisions contained in the divorce decrees with regard to the other children as the Will may need to address certain aspects of each of those documents. In your situation I do not believe that a Will kit will be sufficient to address his wishes.

It may be appropriate to establish a Trust on behalf of the children (and even for you), and an experienced Estate Attorney can advise you better after having all of the facts and reviewing the assets.

In addition to the Will, I would recommend that he execute a Durable Power of Attorney if he has any assets that are not held jointly with you (or in the alternative ensure that you are identified appropriately on all assets). He should also consider a Medical/Health Care Surrogate which will allow him to appoint someone who can make medical decisions on his behalf. This is not the same as a Living Will, which only addresses his desires with regard to life saving treatment. A HCS will allow you, or the appointed person, to make the daily decisions with regard to his care in the event that he is not able to.

Finally, while your husband is going through this process, you should take the time to set everything up for you as well.

Good luck with everything and I hope for the best for you and your family.

 

[StepInGA]

Thank you

Florida Lawyer, thanks so much for the response and advice.

We will talk to an Attorney about drafting up a will for both of us since this is something we should have anyway even if my husband was not sick.

I will definitely check into him appointing a Medical/Health Care Surrogate (most likely me) in addition to the Living Will.

We are still a young family and do not yet have huge assets, but considering that there are minors involved I think a Will is important at this point. He does have a decent life insurance policy and 401k that he needs to split up appropriately.

All property he owns we own jointly so I think we should not have to worry about him executing a Durable Power of Attorney.

Thanks again for the advice and condolences. I just wasn't sure what items we needed to consider, but hopefully now we can have all our bases covered.