We were saddened to read numerous news stories about doctors, nurses, and other health care providers scrambling to complete or update their estate planning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While we’re not health care providers, we want to do what we can to help support our community and thank our local health care providers and first responders who are putting their health and their family's well-being on the line to help keep members of our community safe and healthy. To that end, we assembled the tools to create a FREE Emergency Estate Plan on a pro bono basis for health care workers in Triangle-area hospitals and Triangle-area first responders.
Just as administering emergency medical care to a patient “in the field” or at an accident site is intended to be a stop-gap measure until proper care can be received in a hospital, the same goes for these documents--they are intended as a quick, emergency tool for those without current estate planning documents in place. However, when the emergency passes, we strongly advise you to seek legal counsel to further discuss your specific goals and circumstances in greater detail.
In particular, these documents allow you to:
- Name agents as your Health Care Power of Attorney to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated.
- Name agents as your General Power of Attorney to make legal and financial decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated.
- Provide for the distribution of your estate to your next of kin (spouse, children, or other family members) if you pass away.
If you need more detailed provisions than we can provide in this plan, PLEASE contact our office to discuss how we can help you.