As an LGBT person or a person living with HIV, do you have a Life Plan Toolbox? Would you get into a boat going out on Lake Michigan without a life preserver? Would you let your loved one do so? If your answer is no, then why would you allow you and your loved ones to be without some simple but essential legal protections?
Think of the what matters most:
- Who will make medical decisions for you if you are unable to do so for yourself?
- Who will make financial decisions for you if you become incapacitated?
- What will happen if your partner and you break up?
- Who will care for your children if something happens to you?
- Who will inherit your belongings when you die?
- Who will see to it that your wishes for your funeral arrangements are carried out?
The reality is that current Illinois law has several barriers between you and the person you may want to be by your side or provided for if something happens to you. Creating a Life Plan Toolbox now will protect you and the ones you love.
These are the basic tools that should be in your Toolbox:
- Medical Power of Attorney
- Financial Power of Attorney
- A Living Will
- Beneficiary Designations for life insurance policies or retirement plans
- A Will
- Real Estate Ownership Arrangements
- Second-Parent Adoption
I’ll discuss each of these tools in more detail in coming posts.