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Estate
Planning Issues
1. HEALTH CARE PROXY
This instrument designates
a trusted friend or family member (called the Health Care Agent) to make health
care and treatment
decisions for you in the event that you are unable to make these decisions
for yourself.
Decisions of your
Agent are final, and supersede others'. The Health Care Proxy is now formally
recognized in Oklahoma,
which means your selection of a health care agent is absolutely binding.
2. LIVING WILL
This instrument is
your statement that in the event that you are unlikely to recover from an
extreme physical
or mental disability,
you do not wish to be kept alive by "artificial means". When used in conjunction
with a
Health Care Proxy,
a Living Will serves as a directive to your Health Care Agent. You should
read your
Living Will, understand
it, and discuss it carefully with your Health Care Agent.
3. DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY
There are essentially
two types of decisions someone may have to make for you when you can't make
decisions for yourself:
those relating to health care and those related to finances. The Health Care
Proxy
designates an individual
to make health care decisions for you. The Durable Power of Attorney, however,
is an instrument
that allows your designate to manage all aspects of your financial affairs.
4. LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
Now usually known
as the "Last Will", this is the instrument which, upon your death, specifies
how your
estate will be distributed.
A Last Will also permits you to make other important decisions, such as choosing
a guardian for your
minor children, and the individual who will be responsible for insuring that
the provisions
of your Last Will
are honored. Even the preparation of a "simple" Last Will requires that you
provide a
considerable amount
of information about your assets and about those who will be your beneficiaries.
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