I have no family. How do I plan my living will and estate?

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I have no family. How do I plan my living will and estate?

I have limited assets. How do I designate a power of attorney and living will?

Asked on September 7, 2016 under Estate Planning, Florida

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

Your physician likely cannot be responsible for your living will--it is probably an ethical conflict to be your doctor and the person charged with carrying out the living will, since those roles are separate and at least somewhat incompatible (e.g. a doctor can't carry out your wishes to not treat a serious chronic degenerative or ulimately fatal condition, if that is what you'd want, so as to be allowed to die with dignity--doctors have to try to heal you unless you or the person with power under a living will tells them not to).
Pick a friend or trusted professional colleague to be the executor of your will (e.g. your lawyer or accountant can do this; for example, my father was a CPA and was the executor for a number of his clients). Give him or her a copy of the will. Similarly, pick someone close to you who shares your attitude about end of life medical care, etc. to hold your living will and be your health care proxy. It can be the same person as your executor or someone else, at your option.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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