Roy Weddleton

What We Do

Do you remember Terri Schiavo? Did you know that case might have been avoided if Terri Schiavo had a living will, or better still, a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care?

Terri’s case is a wake-up call to anyone who does not already have their final wishes in writing. For obvious reasons, many people avoid issues about death. But anything can happen to us, just like it did to Terri. Terri was 27 years old when she suffered cardiac arrest.

While a Living Will is important to express your wishes for end-of-life care when you are unable to make those decisions for yourself, perhaps an even more important document is a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. The Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care authorizes your agent to make choices you laid out ahead of time on how you wanted to be treated. It can specify no artificial prolonging of life or just the opposite. You can specify such things are whether you want to be nourished down to whether you want hydration or lip moisture. Remember, it’s what you want.

The Living Will and the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care go hand in hand. At Jordan, Gfroerer & Weddleton, we will draft the two documents for you, send them to you to review in your home so you can discuss them with members of your family and then arrange to have you come in to the office to execute both documents with the necessary legal witnesses.

Bring this flyer into the office with you and your cost for these two documents is $25 for one person and $50 for a couple.

Don’t put your family through what Terri Schiavo’s family went through. Get a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care today.

Do You Really Need a Will or a Financial Power of Attorney?

What is a Will?

It is a formal written document which allows you to control who receives your property after you die. Unless you have a Will, New Hampshire law will distribute your property according to a preset formula which may not take into consideration the special needs and concerns of your family. Moreover, the persons who will take care of your affairs and take care of your children may be picked without input from you.

There may be other important items that should be addressed, but your Will should at least:

1. Provide for your spouse. Otherwise, if you have children and you die without a Will, roughly speaking, your property will be divided 50/50 between your spouse and your children. Your spouse may not use your children’s share to support them.

2. Name an Executor. This is the person who will be responsible for administering your estate by paying any debts and expenses and distributing assets to your beneficiaries. Your Executor should be someone you trust and who is competent to carry out the required duties.

3. Name a Guardian for your children. If both you and your spouse die at the same time you will want to make sure your children are cared for by someone you favor, who has the time and the resources, and most importantly, whose ideas about raising children are similar to yours.

What is a Financial Power of Attorney?

It is a formal document in which you appoint someone to take care of your financial affairs when you are unable to do so. Some of the things your attorney-in-fact would be able to do is deposit money into your bank account, write checks and pay bills, sell or purchase stock in your name, sell or purchase real property in your name, sign and file income tax returns in your name, and apply for and accept any funds received from Social Security in your name.

A financial power of attorney is important for everyone because you don’t want to worry about your financial affairs falling behind when you cannot care for them.

If you have questions or want additional information, Call Attorney Weddleton 603-223-6613 or e-mail him rweddleton@millerlawnh.com