Tag: Est8Planning Counsel LLLC

  • What is a POLST And Do I Need One?

    If you were to collapse unexpectedly, how aggressively would you want emergency medical personnel to act in trying to keep you alive? If you were a typical, healthy, individual, you would probably say, “do whatever it takes to keep me going, even if you have break a few ribs to do it!” (This can happen during CPR — cardiopulmonary resuscitation.) However, if you were in the end stage of a terminal disease, such as a cancer that had spread throughout your body, and you knew your death were imminent, you may say, “keep me comfortable, but if my heart should stop, please let me go. Don’t try to resuscitate me.” That is where a Provider Order regarding Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) comes in.

    A POLST is a special document that you and your doctor (or nurse practitioner) discuss, fill out, and sign to state your wishes about the measures that should be taken to keep you alive. It is different from an Advance Directive in that emergency personnel will follow it, provided that they are aware of its existence. Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are required to do whatever they can do to restore and stabilize your heartbeat and breathing and take you to an appropriate facility for treatment. They will not take the time to read your Advance Directive and try to figure out how it might apply to your situation. But you can see how in some cases, resuscitation procedures may not be appropriate or wanted. A POLST, being a medical provider’s order, will be followed by the EMTs. Your Advance Directive will not come into play until you are in the hospital, and at that point, the EMTs may not have done you any favors by keeping your heart beating.

    Generations Magazine -What is a POLST And Do I Need One? - Image 01
    Emergency first responders will follow a POLST from your doctor.

    Almost all 50 states have some version of the POLST, but some call it by other names. In New York, it is called MOLST, and in West Virginia, it is MOST. VA medical centers have their own term, SAPO, which stands for State Authorized Portable Order. Whatever the alphabet soup used to name the document, all of the orders generally work the same way.

    In Hawai‘i, if you have a POLST, we recommend that you print it on lime green paper so it will be recognizable immediately. The trick is to have your POLST nearby and in a conspicuous place in case you should need it. EMTs are trained to look for the green form and follow the POLST order. You can post a copy near your bed, and you can carry it with you when you leave the house. Just make sure your loved ones know where to find it if an emergency occurs.

    Note that the POLST does not have to say “don’t resuscitate me.” It can say the exact opposite if that is your wish. Either way, most people do not need a POLST. However, for someone whose death is imminent and who doesn’t want to risk being kept alive artificially against his or her wishes, a POLST is essential.

    SCOTT MAKUAKANE, COUNSELOR AT LAW Focusing exclusively on estate planning and trust law. Watch Scott’s TV show, Malama Kupuna Sundays at 8:30 pm on KWHE, Oceanic channel 11
    www.est8planning.com
    O‘ahu: 808-587-8227 | maku@est8planning.co

    If you were to collapse unexpectedly, how aggressively would you want emergency medical personnel to act in trying to keep you alive? If you were a typical, healthy, individual, you would probably say, “do whatever it takes to keep me going, even if you have break a few ribs to do it!” (This can happen…

  • First Things First

    You may have heard the old joke, “where there’s a will… I want to be in it.” That may be true, but effective estate planning covers much more than just “who gets my stuff.” When you sift through your own reasons for doing estate planning, you may find that naming who gets your stuff takes a distant back seat to far more important considerations.

    The primary concern most of us have about our estates is figuring out how to stay in control. Does it really matter who gets your stuff if you don’t get to enjoy it during your lifetime? So the foundation of your estate plan should be making sure that you are in control of your stuff for as long as you are alive and well.

    The next step is identifying and naming your “substitute decision-makers,” who will step in and take care of your stuff if you become incapacitated or die. Naming the right individual will be one of the most important choices you make. These folks will make or break your estate plan.

    Part of staying in control of your stuff involves protecting it from creditors, predators and plain old bad luck. Think of your estate plan as a castle. Imagine a large enclosure surrounded by a moat. In the old days, the moat would be stocked with alligators. With your present-day estate plan, you can stock the moat with a different kind of gators. Litigators are attorneys paid by your insurance company to protect you from people who would like your stuff to be their stuff. Having adequate liability insurance is a critical element of your estate plan.

    The walls of your castle represent various legal structures you can put in place to protect your home, your business, your rental properties and your other assets. The legal structures might include trusts, limited liability companies, corporations, limited partnerships or a combination of entities. You can also consider using a special kind of ownership with your spouse called “tenancy by the entirety.”

    Ultimately, you will want your estate plan to assure that your stuff goes to whom you want, when you want, the way you want, with the lowest overall cost, delay and loss of privacy. You may want to put special restrictions on a gift to one beneficiary without imposing the same restrictions on your other beneficiaries. You might have special assets or special situations (including a special-needs loved one) that require careful planning. The only way to navigate the alternatives is with the help of experienced counsel who can educate you as to the available options, and help you pick the ones that are right for you and your loved ones. Good counsel can help you build the castle that is just right for your situation.

    SCOTT MAKUAKANE, COUNSELOR AT LAW
    Focusing exclusively on estate planning and trust law.
    Watch Scott’s TV show, Malama Kupuna
    Sundays at 8:30 pm on KWHE, Oceanic channel 11
    www.est8planning.com
    O‘ahu: 808-587-8227 | maku@est8planning.com

    You may have heard the old joke, “where there’s a will… I want to be in it.” That may be true, but effective estate planning covers much more than just “who gets my stuff.” When you sift through your own reasons for doing estate planning, you may find that naming who gets your stuff takes…

  • Who’s on First?

    The humor behind the classic comedy routine, Who’s on first?, comes from the fact that the speakers are using identical terms to mean different things. Yet they both pretend not to recognize the problem. The language of estate planning can raise problems for the uninitiated, and the problems may not be funny at all. The vocabulary of estate planning is very precise, and a seemingly innocuous slip of the tongue can make a world of difference.

    A good example is the term “estate.” What does it mean? Does it mean land, as in “real estate,” or what passes by way of my Will, as in “probate estate,” or does it mean what is subjected to “estate tax” after I am gone? It can mean a wide variety of things, depending on the context and the adjectives that surround it.

    Because the word “estate” is central to estate planning, here is a brief glossary of the most common uses of the term.

    An “estate” can be land, or just an interest in land. An example of an interest in land is a life estate. A life estate gives the owner the right to use the land for the life tenant’s lifetime, but then the estate terminates and the land goes to the remaindermen (a person who inherits or is entitled to inherit property upon the termination of the former estate owner).

    Probate estate is whatever you own at death that will pass by way of your Last Will and Testament. It might include such things as land, bank accounts, cars and jewelry.

    But wait! How come an estate tax return covers not only a person’s probate estate, but also things that have nothing to do with the persaon’s probate estate — like life insurance policies, retirement accounts, jointly-owned assets and trust assets? That is because your estate for estate tax purposes includes just about everything you own or control at the moment of your death. However, with the right estate planning, you can have a lot of control over assets that are not included in your estate for estate tax purposes.

    For example, assets (sometimes called a trust estate) that you own and control as the trustee of a trust may or may not be part of your taxable estate, just depending on the words in the trust agreement that say what you can do with the trust estate. Choosing the right words is critical.

    You can see how proper estate planning requires careful attention to detail and precise use of language. Helpful legal information at www.hawaiilaw.tv. You also can find elder care information by clicking here.

    SCOTT MAKUAKANE, Attorney at Law of Est8Planning Counsel LLLC, specializing in estate planning and trust law.
    Honolulu: (808) 587-8227 | Maui: (808) 891-8881 | Email: maku@est8planning.com
    www.est8planning.com

    The humor behind the classic comedy routine, Who’s on first?, comes from the fact that the speakers are using identical terms to mean different things. Yet they both pretend not to recognize the problem. The language of estate planning can raise problems for the uninitiated, and the problems may not be funny at all. The…