• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
  • Services
    • Asset & Business Planning
    • Dental Practice Law
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Financial Planning Assistance
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Medicaid and Elder Law
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Carmel, Indiana Elder Resources
        • Fishers Indiana Elder Law Resources
        • Greenfield, Indiana Elder Law Resources
        • Greenwood Elder Resources
        • Indianapolis Elder Law Resources
        • Lawrence Elder Law Resources
        • Plainfield Elder Resources
        • Zionsville Elder Law Resources
    • Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
        • Business Succession Planning
      • Elder Abuse
      • Elder Law
        • Medicaid
        • Medicaid Planning
        • Planning for Long-Term Care
      • Estate Planning
        • Avoiding Estate Taxes
        • Estate Planning for Parents
        • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
        • LGBTQ Estate Planning
        • Women and the Need for Estate Planning
      • Financial Planning
      • Incapacity Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • Pet Planning
      • Philanthropy in Your Estate Plan
      • Probate
      • Power of Attorney
      • Small Estate Administration
      • Trusts
        • Trust Administration
        • Trust Administration
        • Serving as Executor
      • Understanding Your Social Security Retirement Benefits
      • Wills
        • Contesting a Will
    • Newsletter
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Probate and Trust Administration
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss Of A Loved One
      • Probate Resources
        • Carmel, Indiana Probate Resources
        • Greenfield Probate
        • Greenwood Probate
        • Indianapolis Probate
        • Plainfield Probate
        • Indiana Probate
        • Zionsville Probate
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Areas We Serve
    • Boone County
      • Lebanon
      • Zionsville
    • Hamilton County
      • Carmel
      • Fishers
    • Hancock County
      • Greenfield
    • Hendricks County
      • Brownsburg
      • Plainfield
    • Johnson County
      • Franklin, Indiana
      • Greenwood
    • Marion County
      • Central Indiana
      • Indianapolis
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law

Indianapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

CONNECT WITH US TODAY(317) 684-1100

Attend a Free Workshop
Home » Resources » Frequently asked questions » Incapacity Planning FAQs

Incapacity Planning FAQs

      • Isn’t the threat of incapacity something to worry about when I’m older?

      • While the possibility of becoming incapacitated does increase with age, disability is not limited to the elderly. On the contrary, a tragic car accident, a debilitating illness, or even a work-related injury could all result in your incapacity at any age. In fact, a typical 35 year-old has a 24 percent, or one in four, chance of becoming disabled for 3 months or longer during his/her working career. That same worker has a 38 percent chance that if disabled, that disability will last for five years or longer. Given those odds, it should be apparent that the possibility of incapacity is something everyone should consider.

      • What happens to my assets if I become incapacitated without a plan in place?

      • Whether you have only a modest estate, or you have accumulated great wealth, the assets you do own undoubtedly mean something to you. In addition, you are used to controlling what happens to those assets. If you were to become incapacitated tomorrow, someone would have to take over control of those assets. In the absence of an incapacity plan that dictates who that person will be, you have no way of knowing who will end up in control of your assets. More than one person could feel that they have the right to step in and take control, resulting in costly litigation.

      • Who will make decisions for me if I become incapacitated and do not have a plan in place?

      • Over the course of a single day, you make hundreds, even thousands, of decisions for yourself. Although most of those decisions are inconsequential, you will also occasionally need to make life-altering decisions for yourself. If you become incapacitated, someone may need to make life and death medical decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself. Once again, if more than one person believes that they have the right to make those decisions for you it could lead to contentious litigation and a family rift that may never heal.

      • What is incapacity planning?

      • Incapacity planning utilizes legal strategies and tools that collectively determine who will control your assets and make important decisions for you in the event you are ever incapacitated. It allows you to make crucial decisions now instead of a judge making them for you later.

      • Should I use a Power of Attorney in my incapacity plan?

      • A Power of Attorney is a legal agreement that allows you (the “Principal”) to grant another person (your “Agent”) the legal authority to act in your place in legal matters. That authority can be general, allowing your Agent almost unfettered power to act on your behalf, or limited, only granting your Agent the authority to act on your behalf in specific situations or for a designated period. While a Power of Attorney can be a helpful incapacity planning tool, it has some drawbacks, including the risk that third parties won’t accept your Agent’s authority.

      • How can a revocable living trust help with incapacity planning?

      • A revocable living trust is an extremely popular incapacity planning tool that works by allowing you to appoint yourself as the Trustee of the trust and appoint someone of your choosing as the successor Trustee. Your estate assets are then transferred into the trust. Because you are the Trustee, you continue to control those assets just as before; however, if you become incapacitated the successor Trustee (chosen by you) takes over as Trustee, thereby shifting control of your assets to the person of your choice without the need for court intervention. Moreover, when you recover you can resume your position as Trustee as if nothing happened. Finally, because the trust is revocable, you can move assets in and out of the trust with ease and even replace the successor Trustee if you wish to do so at any time.

      • What is an advanced directive?

      • An advance directive is a legal document that allows you to plan ahead and make your own end-of life wishes known in the event that you are unable to communicate those wishes at some later time and/or appoint someone to make decisions for you. State law dictates what types of advance directives are recognized in the state. Indiana recognizes two types of advanced directives, including:

        • Appointment of Health-Care Representative and Power of Attorney -- lets you name someone, called your health-care representative, to make decisions about your medical care — including decisions about life support — if you can no longer speak for yourself. This document is especially useful because it allows you to appoint someone to speak for you any time you are unable to make your own medical decisions, not only at the end of life.
        • Indiana Declaration -- lets you state your wishes with regard to life-prolonging procedures in the event you develop a terminal condition and can no longer make your own decisions. The Declaration allows you to choose between Indiana’s Living Will Declaration, which allows you to state your preference for the withdrawal or withholding of life-prolonging procedures, and Indiana’s Life-Prolonging Procedures Declaration, which allows you to state your preference for receiving life-prolonging procedures if you are terminally ill.

Contact Us

If you have additional questions or concerns about incapacity planning in the State of Indiana, contact an experienced Indianapolis, Indiana incapacity planning attorney at Frank & Kraft. by calling (317) 684-1100 to schedule your appointment today.

Primary Sidebar

Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law

Download our free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube

Where We Are

Frank & Kraft Attorneys at Law
135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Fax: (317) 684-6111

See Larger MapGet directions

Office Hours

Monday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Map

frankkraft_sidbr_map

Footer

  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
footer-logo

Frank & Kraft Attorneys at Law
Attorney Advertisement

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.

© 2023 · American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Contact Us