Michael, as Terri’s guardian, had entered a do not resuscitate order for her but was convinced by the nursing home staff to have it rescinded; in 1998 he petitioned the Sixth Circuit Court of Florida to remove her feeding tube. He was opposed by Terri’s parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, who argued that Terri was conscious. Michael later transferred his authority over the matter to the court, which determined that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures.

The local court’s decision to disconnect Schiavo from life support was carried out on March 18, 2005, and Schiavo died of effects of dehydration at a Pinellas Park hospice on March 31.

This case stands as the representative example of why having an advanced medical directive plan in place is so essential. Regardless of what beliefs you may have regarding the final outcome of the case, the lesson to be learned from this tragedy is that the only way to prevent such a situation is to plan. The only way to prevent a court from interceding in such a decision, is to have a documented plan in place.

Unfortunately, human nature compels us to wait until it is too late to put such a plan in place. “That can’t happen to me”, syndrome runs rampant. When coupled with the belief that, “talking with an attorney about these issues is just too expensive”, a perfect storm is created that leads to many people into tragic situations like Terri Schiavo’s.

The truth is that with some basic planning, these types of tragedies can be avoided. Furthermore, putting advanced medical directives in place doesn’t have to be cost prohibitive. Many of my clients are surprised to learn just how easy and affordable setting up some basic health care directives can be. I am happy to discuss your specific situation with you by phone.

The NC Administrative Office of the Courts offers its Responsibilities of Guardians in North Carolina, to help people understand their role as guardian in North Carolina.

This pamphlet is provided as a public service to assist persons who have been or are about to be appointed guardians in understanding their duties, responsibilities and role. It is not meant as substitute for legal advice. You should contact a North Carolina estate planning attorney should you have any legal questions about the role of a guardian.

I can tell you how bad the results could be, but I thought you could read for yourself a true story posted by attorney Jeffrey A. Cramer in Florida on how bad the results actually were.  If you have children, I will bet that you won’t even think about a “do it yourself” Estate Plan after you read below.

“Another Horror Story From the Real World”

Why is it a bad idea to do your own planning?

1.  Pre-printed or fill in the blank forms are created to be user friendly by the majority of the people who use them; they are not created especially for you.  Our Firm will create each document for you based on your particular needs and wishes.

2.  Pre-Printed or fill in the blank forms ask everyone the same questions each time.  Our Firm asks alot of the same questions from client to client because it is necessary. But, after that, we follow up with individualized questions based on an intimate fact finding meeting where we get to know you as clients, parents, couple, etc.

3.  Pre-Printed or fill in the blank forms will not ask you detailed questions about the personality of your children; what they enjoy doing; their health issues if any, etc.  Our Firm asks many many questions about your children because we know that your children are an important part of your life and you want to do the best planning for them so they are well taken care of after your death.

4.  Pre-Printed or fill in the blank forms will not discuss with you what to think about before appointing an Executor, Trustee or Guardian. You will not be told that it is probably not a good idea to appoint a brother and sister-in-law as the Guardians of your children.  Why?  They could get divorced!

5.  Pre-Printed or fill in the blank forms may not include the proper witness sections or notary language that are required to be included to be a valid North Carolina Last Will and Testament.  North Carolina requires two witnesses to every Last Will and Testament.  Will you know that you need to sign it and the witnesses need to see you sign it? Probably not because the form will not tell you that.

What I believe to be the biggest most important reason why you should never draft your own Estate Planning documents…you do not get the counseling, planning and experience from a licensed Estate Planning Attorney that will create a comprehensive Estate Plan based exclusively on your personal family situation, beliefs, wishes and concerns.  Using our Firm, you will get an Estate Plan that will work when you need it to work…after your death.  Can you be so sure your “Do it Yourself” Estate Plan will? Do you really want to take the chance?

1.  I have made appropriate legal arrangements to appoint the person or persons I want to make my personal, health care and financial decisions should I ever become disabled.

2.  I have made appropriate legal arrangements to appoint the person or persons I want to raise my minor children to adulthood should they become orphaned.

3.  I have made appropriate legal arrangmements to protect any inheritance I may leave both for and from my children, realizing that it can be taken through their potential divorce, lawsuits or bankruptcies…or lost through squandering.

If you answered “no” to any of the above, then YOU need a comprehensive estate plan.

You will notice that there aren’t any questions regarding how large or small your estate is; It does not matter.  It only matters when it reaches the taxable limit (which in 2009 is $3,500,000).

You will also notice there aren’t any questions regarding whether you are married, divorced or single.  There are issues that need to be dealt with no matter what your marital status is.

We cannot know when we will die, but we can plan as much as we can when that time comes.  Call our offices to find out how we can assist you with planning your estate so you can plan today for your family tomorrow.

When I draft Estate Planning documents, I always assume that my client could die tomorrow. I also make certain that my clients understand that the provisions in the Estate Planning documents can always be changed in the future. Also, and this is probably an obvious statement to many, but, if you are married the only time your child will have a Guardian appointed is after the second parent dies.

Listed below are points I tell my clients to consider in choosing the proper Guardian.

1. The age of the person? If your guardian is too young perhaps he or she is not at the right place in his or her life to care for a child. Or, if he or she is too elderly perhaps he or she is not physically capable of caring for a child.
2. Does he or she have children already or plan on having children? Maybe he or she already has all the children they can or want to care of or he or she wants to have more children and could not be able to care for others in the future.
3. Is this person married? If so, you need to consider whether you like the spouse as well. After all, your child will be living in the same home as the spouse. If he or she is not married, you need to consider whether you are comfortable with your child being raised by a single parent. There are some difficult obstacles that a single parent faces raised every day.
4. What are the religious beliefs of the person? This is something to think about if it is important for you to have your child raised with the same religious beliefs as you are currently raising them.
5. Is he or she a blood relative or relative by marriage? Be careful if you are considering nominating an “in-law”. You should always consider the possibility of divorce, regardless of how happy they are today.
6. Does your child actually like this person? You may think he or she is the perfect person to raise your child, but if your child does not have or show the same feelings towards that person, you may be causing more harm than good.
7. How drastic will your child’s daily life change? Think about whether your child will have to move (in or out of state) or change schools. This could be a difficult transition without having just lost your parents. Imagine how difficult that would be if it is due to your parents passing away.
8. Does this person have pets? If your child has allergies which may be drastically affected by living in a home with a pet, that home may not be the best place for your child to live. Many people will not give up their pets that easily.
9. What type of job does this person have? Think about whether that person has to travel for work or has a job that is considered dangerous. This may mean that your child may have to go to daycare (not that that is a bad thing) or potentially even be faced with loosing another loved one.
10. Would you live with this person? You cannot expect your child to live with someone if you could not see yourself living with this person!

It is my job as an attorney to give the good, the bad and the ugly. These points are to provide my clients with as many possibilities to consider before making a very important decision. In order to make the best decision for your family based on what your family’s needs, beliefs and traditions are, I supply the things to consider in making that decision.