KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR WILL

Once you've taken that very important step to create a Last Will and Testament and get your other estate planning documents in order, you need to figure out what to do with the Will document itself. It is important to keep track of the location of your current Will, as well as any old Wills and other important papers.

Where to keep a Will
The safest place to keep the original copy of your Will is in a bank safe deposit box, which has a dual signature on it so someone other than yourself can access this box and retrieve your Will once you are gone. If you do not have a second person on signature to this box, it is NOT a good idea to keep your Will in a bank safe deposit box. It will take a Court order to open it to retrieve your Will once you have passed on.

PLEASE NOTE: A Power of Attorney Document cannot be used once you have passed away; the designated Agent you appointed in A Power of Attorney Document can only handle your affairs in your place while you are alive.

If you keep the Will at home, please be sure to keep it in a Fire and Waterproof safe, however, you still may run the risk of it being stolen. Some attorneys may keep the original copy of the Will but many no longer do this. If you leave the Will with your attorney, make sure the attorney receives updated contact information from you when you move. That way if the attorney moves offices or retires, he or she is able to locate you to notify where your Will can be acquired when necessary.

You may want to keep a copy of your Will at home with your other financial documents, always make sure that this copy is UNSIGNED, and indicate on this copy where the original can be located. It is also usually not a good idea to give a copy to family members or friends for many reasons: your Will is private; you do not want anyone to make unauthorized changes; you do not want anyone to destroy it for whatever reason, or it may get lost and destroyed while in another person’s possession. Most importantly, you yourself want to review it on a regular basis to keep it current; your life’s circumstances and wishes may change so you may possibly want to make changes to the distributions or agents named to handle your affairs after you are gone.

What do you do with an old Will?
Once you have written a new Will, destroy the old Will by either shredding it or burning it. Do not simply throw it in the trash or keep it hanging around the house. You do not want this Will to be used inadvertently instead of your newly created Will.

Making changes to a Will
If you want to make changes to a Will, do not mark up the Will by hand, even if you have only small changes to make. A court could take a marked-up Will as a sign that you intended to revoke the Will. If you want to make a change, contact an attorney who can draft an amendment to the Will (called a codicil).

MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH CARE PROXY

The Massachusetts Health Care Proxy is a basic and essential legal document that allows you to name someone you know and trust to make health care decisions for you if, for any reason and at any time, you become unable to make or communicate those decisions for yourself. Under the Health Care Proxy Law, M.G.L. Chapter 201D, a person must be a competent adult 18 years of age or older before he can appoint a Health Care Agent, and that Agent must also be a competent adult who is at least 18 years of age at the time he or she is appointed.

An Agent will make decisions about your health care only when you are, for some reason, unable to do that yourself. This means that your Agent can act for you if you are temporarily unconscious, in a coma, or have some other condition in which you cannot make or communicate health care decisions. Your Agent cannot act for you until your doctor determines in writing, that you lack the ability to make health care decisions for yourself.

Acting under the authority of the Health Care Proxy document, your appointed Agent can make any health care decision for you that you would make if you were able to communicate. If you give your Agent full authority to act for you, he or she can consent to or refuse any medical treatment, including treatment that could keep you alive.

Your Agent will make decisions for you only after talking with your doctor or health care provider, and after fully considering all the options regarding diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of your illness or condition. If the document is properly constructed and it includes language established in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), your Agent will have the legal right to obtain any information, including confidential medical information, necessary to make informed decisions for you. Your Agent will make health care decisions for you in accordance with your wishes or according to his/his assessment of your wishes, including your religious or moral beliefs.

It is recommended that you talk with your doctor(s), religious advisor, and other members of your family before giving instructions to your Agent. It is very important that you talk with your Agent and other members of your family, so that they all know what is important to you. If your Agent does not know what your wishes would be in a particular situation, your Agent will need to decide based on what he or she thinks would be in your best interests. If your family does not know what your wishes would be in a particular situation then they may object to a decision made by your Health Care Agent which could not only trigger a Court intervention but also cause a possible delay in your medical treatment.

Your Agent’s decisions will have the same authority as you would have if you were able to communicate, and he or she will be honored over those of any other person, except for a Court Order specifically overriding the Proxy.