What does it mean to be Incapacitated?

By Estate Planning attorney Rick Law of Law Elder Law in Aurora, IL, just off the Farnsworth exit of the I-88 tollway.

At Law Elder Law,  we pride ourselves on not confusing clients with legal jargon.  Planning for your retirement is a stressful enough situation without having to wade through a sea of confusing lawyer-speak.

As an elder care lawyer I have learned through presenting health-care power of attorney language to several thousand people that when I use the word “incapacity,” they often don’t know what I’m talking about.

What most people think incapacity means typically is not what the lawyer is talking about. When I ask a client, “What do you think incapacitated means?” my client often gets a fuzzy look on his or her face, and more or less describes being unconscious.

When a lawyer uses the word “incapacity”, they typically mean person who cannot appreciate and understand the consequences of a decision or an act, and/or is unable to properly respond to making health-care and/or financial decisions.

Take the time to have your attorney fully explain that, legally, the idea of mental incapacity means being unable to properly control assets and/or health-care decision making, and that the situation can come up through an accident, an illness, or a long-term degenerative disease, such as any of the many types of dementia, which includes, of course, Alzheimer’s disease.

It’s easy to convince yourself that the possibility of being incapacitated is rare, but the incidents of incapacity are much higher than most people imagine.

If you’re ready to start getting your estate in order and secure your assets for the “worst-case” scenario, please give our office a call at 800-310-3100. Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now.

Sincerely,

Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees.

Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.  Call 800-310-3100 for your free consultation now!

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“We would be lost without Law Elder Law! We walked in their doors over a year ago feeling lost and confused. With a father/father-in-law suffering from Alzheimer’s, we were overwhelmed by the Medicaid process, selling his home, protecting the assets he worked for his entire life, and finding him a memory-care facility that we could trust as his new home. 

Law Elder Law helped with all of it! From the minute we walked out of our first meeting, we knew we (and he) were in good hands. We could not have possibly navigated all that had to be done without their expertise.”

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