What Can You Do To Help?

What if I told you there was something you can actually do yourself to help with this epidemic? Because there is! One of the worst things about the current crisis is that we feel a sense of powerlessness. Yes, we can wash our hands and practice social distancing, but that is mostly inaction, not action. It is important – but unfulfilling.

The goal of social distancing is to “flatten the curve” – to ensure that our hospitals and doctors are not overwhelmed. But there is something else that you can do, right now, to help lessen that burden.

 Emergency room doctors have issued a call for people to complete Advanced Care directives, in case they need medical care. Advance Directives are a legal document that lays out your wishes for how you want your medical care to be performed. This simple, small step can help give doctors and hospitals direction as to the type of care you prefer, and can streamline the process should you indeed end up needing medical care.

As an attorney who specializes in helping people create and channel their goals and desires into concrete form, be it through a Will, Trust, Power of Attorney, or Advance Directive, I saw an opportunity to give back to my community. Therefore, my firm, The Legacy Law Firm, is offering a Do It Yourself copy of an Advance Directive, which you can download and fill out from the safety of your home, for no charge. You can download the document by clicking on the advance directive tab at the top.

As an additional step, my firm is offering the following in order to do our part to help in these troubled times:

• 25% discount to all healthcare workers – Doctors, Nurses, and First Responders, and a
• 10% discount to anyone who has made a donation of masks, protective equipment, or money, to help the healthcare workers at this time where they are literally putting their lives on the line to help the country

for the following documents to get their estate planning taken care of, which we recommend all of our clients prepare:  

• Power of Attorney: This document allows you to choose someone else to act on your behalf if you are unable to make decisions on your own. There are two kinds of Power of Attorney– one which controls medical decisions, and one which controls financial decisions. We highly recommend that all our clients get a copy of both a financial and medical Power of Attorney. These are especially important now.
• Will: Normally, when someone passes away, their belongings – money, house, and all other assets – are distributed according to rules set up by the government. A Will allows you to make your own decisions as to what should happen with your money. Additionally, for any parent with children, a will allows you to make a guardianship designation as to who should take care of your kids if you are unable to.
• Trusts: A Trust enables you to keep your assets private, and enables one to skip going through the court system to probate your assets. This streamlines the process, helps protect assets from creditors and government fees, and reduces the chances of fighting over your assets by your children. We generally recommend these for people who want more control over their assets, or who have more assets that they would like to protect.  

Please feel free to pass this along to any health care professionals you know that are out there on the front lines. And if there is anything I or my firm can do to help you during these difficult times, please feel free to reach out at 248-629-0161 or mnewman@thelegacyfirm.com. We are here to answer any questions you may have.