Wills/ Trusts

If you’re like the majority of Americans, you don’t have an estate plan.  You probably have an idea of who should get what property and when you want them to receive it, but without a viable estate plan, your property might not pass according to your wishes.

Estate planning vehicles range from the simple to the complex.  A Will formalizes your intentions so they don’t die with you.  Developing a Living Trust can afford you asset protection now, and may ultimately yield accounting, tax and financial benefits.  It also ensures that, after your death, assets will be managed by the people you trust for the benefit of the people you love.

Bill Hesch will help you develop an individualized estate plan compatible with your unique life circumstances and financial planning goals.


Power of Attorney

Who will manage your finances if you become temporarily or permanently disabled?  By creating a springing Power of Attorney, you appoint someone to act on your behalf just in case you can’t do so yourself.  The authority given is generally broad: allowing for your investments to be managed, real property to be bought and sold, and gifts to be made.

Because of the 2003 federal medical privacy law (HIPAA), it’s especially critical that you designate a Power of Attorney so that the payment of medical expense issues can be properly handled without hindrance.   


Heath Care Documents/ Living Will

You have the right to make your own medical decisions, and, if you are unable to make those decisions, your designated agent can do so according to your health care directives. 
The form of these directives are prescribed by statute, so they vary from state-to-state.

Ohio allows you to appoint a Health Care Power of Attorney to make medical decisions on your behalf.  You can limit your agent’s authority by outlining your wishes (and religious beliefs), and you can elect whether you want artificially provided nutrition and hydration withheld if you’re beyond hope of recovery (think Terri Schiavo).

A Living Will, however, is a directive to your physician that basically says “Stop trying to save me if I reach a ‘permanent unconscious state’ or ‘terminal condition.’” Although pain medication is never withheld, you can also elect whether you would want artificially provided nutrition and hydration withdrawn if you’re beyond hope of recovery (think Terri Schiavo).  Clearly communicating your wishes to your physician through a Living Will Directive can relieve your family of having to speculate about your wishes.

Kentucky has one document called a “Living Will/ Health Care Surrogate Designation” that essentially serves the same purposes: 1) appointing an agent; and 2) deciding whether or not you want to be kept alive for as long as possible. 

There are still a number of unresolved ambiguities related to these relatively-new legal documents because the forms are confusing and their language differs from state-to-state.  If health care documents confuse the courts, then they inevitably confuse physicians and patients alike.  It’s therefore imperative that you work with an attorney to ensure that what you sign is what you really want. 

Check out our Articles page for more detailed information on health care directive issues.


Unmarried Couples/ GLBT Issues

Unmarried couples– both gay and straight– need to provide for the death or disability of a partner by doing the necessary estate and financial planning.  It is especially critical to create health care documents because hospitals typically don’t afford unmarried partners the benefits of a husband or wife. 

Moreover, you may want to consider creating a “contractual living agreement” to identify your separate property and to determine what happens to your joint property if you split up.

If you obtained a same-sex marriage or civil union in a different jurisdiction, your rights may be limited whenever you’re outside of that jurisdiction.  The implications of same-sex unions will continue to change as the courts wrestle with this polarizing issue.  Nevertheless,  you may want to create a “contractual living agreement” as a collateral agreement that can be valid even if the courts say your marriage or civil union is not.