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Estate Planning: Students

You don’t need an estate to engage in proper estate planning. Of course, if you haven’t a copper farthing to your name, you can probably slide by without a Durable Power of Attorney or a Last Will and Testament. But if you’ve got a beating heart in your chest, and if you acknowledge that the beating of said heart is a precarious thing as it is for most mortals, then you should consider purchasing a Designation of Healthcare Surrogate and a Living Will. A Designation of Healthcare Surrogate allows you to appoint someone you trust to make healthcare decisions in your stead when you are no longer able, while a Living Will provides your doctors with resuscitation instructions.

Students are at a greater risk for failing to engage in proper estate planning than others. Typically, students don’t have much property to will away, so the subject of estate planning is of little concern. Also, because students are not-so-long-ago-dependents, recently turned independent, they may not realize that their parents no longer have the same legal relationship with them as they once had. In the event of incapacity, a student’s parents may not possess the legal authority necessary to make healthcare decisions on the student’s behalf.

A Designation of Healthcare Surrogate and Living Will are documents that should be used by anyone, even students, to ensure that, in the event of incapacity, their wishes are observed. It’s difficult to plan for incapacity or death when your whole life is ahead of you, but it is a part of growing up and taking responsibility for that life. Right now, the law firm of Grigaltchik & Galustov, P.A. will draft custom Designation of Healthcare Surrogate, Living Will, and Durable Power of Attorney for students and all others for one low price of $99.00 for all three legally enforceable documents.