Estate planning in North Carolina can help you prepare for the worst before it happens. If you don’t plan ahead, you might not be in control of your medical decisions later in life. You might not want to think about the future, but making end-of-life plans can help you maintain some independence in your final years.
How can you plan for your future in your estate plans?
When you start preparing your estate plan, you can make decisions about the end-of-life care that you want to receive. For example, you can decide if you want doctors to attempt life-prolonging measures like putting you on a ventilator or giving you a feeding tube. This is where you could include a do not resuscitate order.
You can even start planning for your death and funeral with your estate plan. An estate planning and trust planning lawyer could help you register as an organ donor, decide whether you want to be buried or cremated and make funeral arrangements. You could even speak directly with a local funeral home to start making arrangements. You might also make plans for your estate to pay for your funeral costs.
What else should you include in your estate plan?
In addition to funeral plans and healthcare directives, you could choose a health care proxy to make medical decisions on your behalf. An attorney could help you choose someone trustworthy and reliable who cares about your quality of life.
Your estate plan will also include a will that divides up your possessions and provides instructions for paying off your debts. You could leave your estate to family members, give everything to your friends or leave it all to charity. You could even leave everything to one person. As long as your will is legally binding, you can make your own decisions.