Legal Resources

A Financial Power of Attorney (also known as a Statutory Power of Attorney) is a legal document that allows you to designate someone you trust to handle certain financial matters on your behalf. Depending on the authority provided in the document, these matters may include: Managing bank accounts;Paying bills;Handling real estate or other property;Managing investments;Addressing tax-related matters;Working with insurance or retirement benefits; or Handling certain business or financial transactions. This designation may be helpful if circumstances arise that make it difficult or impossible for you to manage those matters yourself, whether because of incapacity, travel, deployment, or another situation.

A Health Care Power of Attorney (also known as a Medical Power of Attorney) is a legal document that allows you to designate someone you trust to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make or communicate those decisions yourself. Depending on the authority provided in the document, these decisions may include:Communicating with doctors and other health care providers;Making decisions regarding medical treatment and procedures;Making decisions about medications and other forms of care;Accessing medical information when necessary to make health care decisions;Making decisions regarding hospitals, care facilities, or other health care providers; orMaking other health care decisions authorized by the document.This designation may be helpful if an illness, injury, incapacity, or other circumstance leaves you unable to make or communicate health care decisions yourself.

A Living Will (also known as an Advance Directive) is a legal document that communicates your wishes regarding the use of life-sustaining procedures if you are unable to make or communicate health care decisions yourself. Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, a Living Will may address:The use or withholding of life-sustaining procedures;Medical treatment intended to prolong life;Your preferences regarding certain end-of-life care; orOther treatment wishes addressed by the document.A Living Will may help communicate your wishes to your health care providers and those involved in your care if you are unable to express those wishes yourself.

A Revocable Trust (also known as a Living Trust or Inter Vivos Trust) is a legal arrangement for holding and managing assets during your lifetime and directing how those assets will be handled after your death. A Revocable Trust generally involves the following roles:Grantor or Trustor: The person who creates the trust and transfers assets to it.Trustee: The person or entity responsible for managing the assets held in the trust according to the terms of the trust agreement.Beneficiaries: The individuals or organizations designated to benefit from or receive assets from the trust.The same person may serve as both the Grantor and Trustee during the Grantor’s lifetime, while naming a successor Trustee to manage or distribute the trust assets if the Grantor becomes unable to do so or after the Grantor’s death.Depending on how the trust is structured and funded, a Revocable Trust may be used to:Manage assets during the Grantor’s lifetime;Provide for the management of trust assets if the Grantor becomes incapacitated;Direct how and when assets are distributed to beneficiaries after the Grantor’s death;Provide for continued management of assets for certain beneficiaries; orAllow assets properly transferred to the trust to pass without going through the probate process.While the Grantor is living and has the legal ability to make changes, a Revocable Trust generally may be amended or revoked according to its terms. Upon the Grantor’s death, the trust generally becomes irrevocable, and the successor Trustee administers the trust according to its terms.

A Last Will and Testament (commonly referred to as a Will) is a legal document that provides instructions for how certain assets and other matters should be handled after your death. Depending on your circumstances and the provisions included in the Will, it may be used to:Identify the individuals or organizations you want to receive certain assets;Provide instructions for distributing property that passes through your estate;Nominate guardians for minor children;Nominate an executor or personal representative to administer your estate;Address certain debts, expenses, or other estate administration matters; orCoordinate the distribution of assets with a Revocable Trust.For individuals who also have a Revocable Trust, a Will may be structured as a “Pour-Over Will.” A Pour-Over Will generally directs certain assets remaining in the individual’s estate at death to be transferred to the Revocable Trust and administered according to the terms of the Trust.