• How Is COVID-19 Affecting The Area Of Estate Planning

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How is the COVID-19 affecting the area of estate planning?

COVID-19 is affecting every area of our lives in a significant way. The pandemic is also spurring individuals and families to draft their estate planning documents or to review/amend already-existing document as they face the possibility of death from the novel COVID-19.

Despite social distancing requirements, can you still draft a Trust/Will?

Many legal documents require notarization, including a trust or will. Some states have issued an emergency order to permit remote online notarization due to the emergence of COVID-19, including Hawaii. Therefore, if you do not already have a trust or will in place, it is still possible to draft a Trust/Will at this time by meeting with your attorney and/or notary via Zoom to effectively execute your legal estate planning document by getting it notarized properly.

Should you draft any ancillary documents e.g. Durable Power of Attorney, etc.?

There are certain documents that your attorney may draft, together with your main estate planning documents such as a trust or a will. They include the Durable Power of Attorney (which allows an agent to act on your behalf with respect to financial transactions), and your Health Care Power of Attorney (which allows an agent to act on your behalf with respect to medical decisions). It may be wise to have your attorney prepare these ancillary documents in order to prepare for the event that you may become incapacitated from COVID-19.

Conclusion

If you have no estate planning document in place, now is a very good time to have one prepared. If you already have one in place, it is still a good time to review it and see if it needs some changes made to it.

Article Source/Courtesy of: Yuka Hongo, Esq. (Hongo Law Office, LLLC)
This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax, legal or estate planning advice as individual situations will vary. HawaiiEstateAndTrust.com nor its registered representatives or employees, offer tax or legal advice. As with all matters of a tax or legal nature, you should consult with your tax or legal counsel for advice.

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