Ideally, everyone would keep their mental and physical faculties until their final days. However, as we at the Law Offices of Frye & Vazquez, P.L., are aware, this scenario does not occur for every Florida resident. Whether you are suffering from a degenerative age-related condition or you experience an unexpected accident that leaves you incapacitated, leaving this life in perfect health is not guaranteed.
As you also may know, your financial and physical needs are not put on hold if you become incapacitated. Your bills still need to be paid and your medical and physical needs met, even if you are no longer able to take care of these issues by yourself. As FindLaw explains, if you haven’t named a desired guardian in your estate planning to address becoming disabled and unable to make your own choices, the court will designate a guardian to make the decisions on your behalf.
This may not necessarily be a bad thing, but you might have reasons to not want a parent, sibling, adult child or other relative as your guardian. You might not be close to your parents or siblings and worry that they would not keep your best interests in mind as your guardian. You may not trust the abilities of your children to make wise financial choices or to follow your wishes regarding your medical care, or you may not want to burden them with the responsibility.
You might avoid an undesirable situation by creating a power of attorney and designating your choices of guardianship if you are ever incapacitated. As our page explains, you have numerous options for this type of estate planning, and experienced counsel is recommended.
