With the booming aging population, more and more seniors will require long-term healthcare services, whether at home, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home. However, such long-term care can be extremely expensive, especially when it’s needed for extended periods.  

Moreover, many people mistakenly believe that their health insurance or the government will pay for their long-term care needs. But the fact is, traditional health insurance doesn’t cover long-term care. And though Medicare does pay for some long-term care, it’s typically limited (covering a maximum of 100 days), difficult to qualify for, and requires you to deplete nearly all of your assets before being eligible (unless you use proactive planning to shield your assets, which we can support you with if that’s important to you and your family).

Both terms describe important legal documents used in estate planning, but their purpose and the way in which they work are very different. Here we are going to discuss some of the most critical things you should know about living wills and explain why having one is an essential part of every adult’s estate plan and how to get yours created or updated. 

1. What Is A Living Will?

A living will, often called an “advance health care directive,” is a legal document that tells your loved ones and doctors how you would want decisions related to your medical care handled in the event you become incapacitated and are unable to make such decisions yourself, particularly at the end of life. Specifically, a living will outlines the procedures, medications, and treatments you would want—or would not want—to prolong your life if you become unable to discuss such matters with doctors yourself. 

Given that LLCs offer the liability protection of a corporation, without all of the administrative hassles, this business entity might seem like the best of both worlds—and in many ways it can be. However, things aren’t nearly as cut and dry as they might seem when it comes to abiding by an LLC’s administrative formalities.

Although the administrative requirements for an LLC are far less strict than for a corporation, you’ll still need to abide by some operational formalities if you want to maintain your personal liability protection. If you fail to adhere to such formalities, a court could remove the protective barrier shielding your personal assets, known as “piercing the veil,” leaving you personally liable to creditors, in the event of a judgment.   

For the first time since the study’s inception, Caring.com’s 2021 Wills and Estate Planning Study found that young adults are now more likely to have an estate plan than middle-aged adults. 

Specifically, the study found that in 2020 only 16% of Americans aged 18 to 34 reported having a will or another estate planning document, but in 2021, that percentage rose by 10 points to 26%—a 63% increase in just one year. Conversely, the 2021 study found that the number of 35 to 54 year-olds with an estate plan actually decreased from 27% in 2020 to 22% in 2021.

Since young adults are traditionally the least likely to engage in estate planning, the study’s results are particularly encouraging for this demographic.

When business owners and managers find themselves in a disagreement or misalignment of expectations, the potential costs are endless. For starters, the energetic drain from the conflict, possible loss of personnel, and of course your reputation as a trustworthy business. 

First and foremost, remember that conflict most often arises because an agreement or process was not properly handled at the start.  It’s important as a business owner that at the beginning of any professional relationship you are creating clear boundaries and expectations. The best way to begin your business relationships is by using an agreement process, and we can support you with that.