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Do any sound familiar to you?

 

13. Most people don’t like to think about death or money. Wills and Trusts force you to confront mortality and money, two issues that can be difficult to face. This is particularly true if you are healthy and don’t feel you have much money.

 

12. Estate planning is something most people are unfamiliar with or feel uncomfortable about. Because you don’t know much about estate-planning documents, you may experience anxiety or struggle with feelings of inadequacy when confronted with the subject. You know how to be a good plumber or schoolteacher or police officer or how to run a restaurant, but you don’t know estate planning.

 

11. There’s no hard-and-fast deadline. Many people can’t accomplish anything until a deadline looms. But when it comes to wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, there is nothing on your calendar telling you when you will need it. The deadline often comes without warning.

 

10. It’s not much fun. True, but life isn’t always fun, especially if you are an adult. If you need fun, plan a party to celebrate finishing your estate plan.

 

9. People hate spending money on lawyers. But not all lawyers deserve this animosity; you can find a good one you can relate to, buy peace of mind by getting your affairs in order and ultimately save exponentially more in legal fees by spending some money now, rather than paying later.

 

8. People are afraid of massive amounts of paper. If you understand the paperwork, it becomes less intimidating. Be prepared to ask questions about anything you don’t understand.

 

7. You won’t live to see the benefits of your estate plan. The beneficiaries will be your heirs. It can be difficult to devote yourself to this task until you accept your family’s priorities as your own.

 

6.  It might mean making decisions that could arouse negative feelings in loved ones. Maybe you’re concerned your family will be angry when they learn the details of your estate plan, but your wishes are paramount.

 

5. The size of the job can be daunting. Estate planning can be, but isn’t necessarily, a big, time-consuming task. The perceived enormity of the task can prevent some people from even starting the job.

 

4. Not doing your estate planning can be a form of passive-aggressive behavior. If you’re not happy with your future heirs, failing to complete necessary wills or trusts can be a subconscious way to punish them.

 

3. Some people just like to live for the moment. Some procrastinators simply can’t—or won’t—force themselves to pass up short-term pleasure and sit down to complete their estate planning, even if on some level they understand that doing so will provide them with long-term satisfaction.

 

2. Seeking perfection in your estate plan. Some people start the estate planning process, multiple times even, but never finish. They want to analyze every possible contingency and account for every possibility, which can lead to a maze that makes the trustee’s job impossibly complicated. Just give it your best shot, focus on what’s really important, and sign documents that capture your overall wishes.

 

1. Guilt feeds upon itself. The real number-one excuse for not doing an estate plan, when you know you need one, is the wall built from guilt caused by putting off estate planning. This adds to any depression you might have about procrastinating in other areas of your life and leads, ironically, to further delay. If you can’t move on from that state, a psychologist or a counselor who has experience working with procrastinators might help you.

All of these reasons to delay are perfectly understandable—but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous or counterproductive. Keep in mind that doing nothing can make your worst fears come true. Whatever keeps you from properly planning your estate, the damage arising from your own inaction will inevitably be greater than doing nothing. Weigh the perils of delay against your fears and you might discover that doing your estate plan is easier not only in the long term, which is obvious, but also in the short term, because the whole subject can then be put behind you.

We can help you stop procrastinating. Give yourself peace of mind and a gift to your family.  Please click here to request an estate planning consultation via Matlin Law Group’s website or feel free to give us a call at 1-847-770-6600.

It is officially spring, time to awaken from our unusually long COVID winter hibernation/nightmare, just in time for annual spring cleaning, the perfect opportunity to get your affairs in order.

Organizing your paperwork may seem like a daunting task, but the resulting relief and satisfaction are worthwhile from both a psychological and emotional standpoint.

An aversion to lawyers and legal documents, or even a case of papyrophobia may leave you paralyzed. Perhaps a serious paperectomy is in order. If you cannot muster the organizational energy to sort your piles of paper, consider hiring someone or seeking the help of a professional, friend, or relative. You will find it worth the effort and expense. Do not wait for a wake-up call – you may not get one.

While you are going through your paper, and if you have already done your estate planning, ask yourself these four important questions:

1. Do you know where your original estate planning documents are (hint: Matlin Law Group does not keep original documents!)?
2. Do key people have access to your original documents in case they are needed?
3. Are your assets properly structured (ownership and beneficiary designations) so as to avoid probate and/or take advantage of potential tax saving?
4. Has your estate plan been reviewed within the last 5 years?
5. Have there been significant changes to you and/or your family since you signed your documents?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you are a candidate for an estate planning review. Please click here to request an estate planning consultation via Matlin Law Group’s website or feel free to give us a call at 1-847-770-6600.

In this unprecedented time with a pandemic virus affecting many, it is understandable that parents are concerned about their college-bound children. While many parents are covering dependent insurance of their adult children until the age of 26, many of these parents are unaware that they have no access to that adult child’s medical records and/or no one has been appointed agent under power of attorney for healthcare for the adult child.

Imagine: Your daughter is in college, a thousand miles away. You pray that she is safe in her new environment, but if she is hurt you can find yourself in a nightmare world. You get a call from a hospital: “She’s here, in stable condition.”

You ask, “What happened? What’s happening?”

The worker at the other end of the phone may feel legally restricted in what information she can give you without conflicting with HIPAA regulations, so you receive no clear response and are denied basic information. She believes that she is honoring your daughter’s federal right to privacy under HIPAA and minimizing her potential liability; but her “take it up with our legal department” response leaves you in a lurch.

HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act) authorizations and Powers of Attorney for Health Care (POAHC) are examples of estate-planning tools that are valuable to people of all ages and means. Every competent person age 18 and over should have them. HIPAA authorizations allow access to your adult child’s health information to whomever your adult child chooses.

POAHCs provide for the appointment of an agent who can make the personal and medical decisions on your behalf of your adult child, should they become incapacitated. It is a type of “advance directive” that helps to avoid a guardianship over their person, keeping your family out of court, and provides a forum for your adult child to articulate end-of-life philosophies, addresses organ donation issues and disposition of remains.

Think of a HIPAA Authorization as your loved one’s answer to the voice at the medical emergency end of the phone saying, “Sorry, I’m not authorized to discuss her condition with you — if you have a problem with this, take it up with our lawyers.” The penalties for health workers (physicians, nurses, hospital administrators and others) who violate complex HIPAA privacy rules can include fines and jail time.

If your adult child is on their way to college, please have them contact Matlin Law Group at 1-847-770-6600 to schedule an appointment to execute their health care power of attorney, HIPAA authorization, and Living Will.

Clients & Friends of Matlin Law Group:

As you are probably aware, Governor Pritzker issued a “Stay at Home” Order for the State of Illinois, in effect from Saturday, March 21, until April 7, 2020.  Under the Order, all non-essential businesses are closed, and residents are required to stay in their homes except for essential activities.

As a provider of legal services, we are an essential business, and we are allowed to remain open.  However, for the safety of our employees, our clients and the general public, our physical office will remain closed for the duration of the Stay at Home Order.

Although we will not be meeting clients in our offices, Matlin Law Group’s existing technological infrastructure allows us to provide uninterrupted service while also protecting the health of our clients, attorneys, and staff. Our case management system enables everyone at the firm to operate remotely from the safety of our homes, so we may continue to work with each other and our clients while avoiding most face-to-face contact.

As new information becomes available and circumstances change, Matlin Law Group will modify our operations as needed while continuing to prioritize our and your health and safety. We have always strived to bring peace of mind to our clients, loved ones, and the Matlin Law Group team by delivering compassionate service at an exceptional level. We remain committed to that mission in these unprecedented times.

Thank you for the continued opportunity to serve you.  We greatly appreciate the steps you and your family have taken to support and protect our community.

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us any time.

Wishing you and your family the best in health.

Sincerely,

Matlin Law Group