Importance of Estate Planning During COVID-19 Pandemic

People without a proper estate plan often say that they are going to set one up eventually. But estate planning is especially important today, given the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An experienced estate planning attorney can walk you through the estate planning process and explain what essential documents you must have in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Call us today to schedule a free consultation with a knowledgeable and experienced Virginia estate planning attorney.

What is Estate Planning?

As the name suggests, estate planning involves setting up a plan for what happens to your estate after your death. However, estate planning is also much more than that. Estate planning also involves deciding who will handle your financial matters if you become incapacitated.

In addition, estate planning means creating instructions for your health care and naming who you want to be in charge of making sure that those instructions are followed if you are faced with a health care emergency and cannot articulate them yourself.

Why Estate Planning Is Essential During the Pandemic

Whether the Coronavirus is directly affecting your family or not, now is the time to have a candid discussion with your loved ones about estate planning. If someone in your family becomes afflicted by the virus, there should be someone with legal authority to speak on behalf of that person if they should become incapacitated.

For example, if a married man with children contracts the Coronavirus and becomes incapacitated, he may become unable to support his family for a while. He may have accounts at various financial institutions, but if they are titled solely in his name, his spouse will have no legal authority to sign on those accounts if the spouse’s name is not on them, even though they are the man’s spouse.

In this case, for the spouse to gain access to their husband’s financial accounts, they would have to file a conservatorship petition with the relevant court to be appointed as his conservator. Then, only by that authority, will the spouse have the right to act on their husband’s behalf. This process will inevitably take months, however, especially since the pandemic has caused significant delays in the courts.

However, had the husband put in place Powers of Attorney or created a Living Trust before contracting the virus, then there would not have been a need for a conservatorship. The spouse would have immediately been able to act upon the husband’s behalf, and the family would have avoided the tremendous time and expense of having to go through a conservatorship proceeding.

Contact an Experienced Virginia Estate Planning Attorney

Now more than ever, those who are still waiting to create a proper estate plan may find out that “eventually” is too late. By taking action today to create a proper estate plan, you can ensure that you and your family are protected if the unfortunate happens.

Estate planning is not only for the rich. An experienced estate planning attorney can advise you of what everyone should and can do to protect themselves and their family during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the numerous benefits of creating a comprehensive estate plan.

Call us today at (703) 553-2577 or use the contact form on our website to arrange a consultation with an experienced Virginia estate planning attorney.

The information on this site is for general informational purposes only. The information presented in this site is not legal advice or a legal opinion. You should seek the advice of legal counsel of your choice before acting upon any of the information in this site.