WILLS, HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVES, DURABLE POWERS OF ATTORNEY

Jana R. Barnett, Esq
(610) 478-1860

WYOMISSING-READING-BERKS COUNTY WILL ATTORNEY

Attorney Jana R. Barnett regularly prepares wills, advance health care directives, and powers of attorney.

Wills are opportunities for you to decide who will get your property upon your death. If you die without a will, state law will determine who gets your property.

In addition to directing that your property go to specific persons or charities, a will can do things like recommend people to become guardians of your minor children, decide who will manage your children’s money while they are still young, decide who will administer your will, and decide whether the executor must be bonded.

Like wills, “living wills” or “advance health care directives” enable you to control what happens. This document tells your health care providers and your loved ones whether you want certain kinds of medical or surgical treatment. Your instructions will be effective if you become unable to make these decisions yourself. Among the choices you can make in advance are whether to have your life prolonged as long as possible, diagnostic testing, a feeding tube, CPR, or mechanical respiration, or whether you simply want to be made comfortable and pain free. You should give a copy of your instructions to your doctor, family members, and other people who may be called if you have a medical emergency.

You may wish to designate someone as your agent to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to do so. The document which makes this designation is called a power of attorney for health care.

Wills, health care directives, and powers of attorney should be reviewed periodically to make sure that they are appropriate for your current situation.

Not only should they be reviewed every few years, they should be reviewed when a person loses a spouse through death or divorce, when children are born, when children become adults, and when a beneficiary dies. If you would like to speak with Attorney Jana R. Barnett about your will, health care directive and/or power of attorney, and learn how she can assist you, call her at 610-478-1860, or click here to send her an e-mail, and she will reply as quickly as possible.