Marital Matters
 Everyone loves a
wedding. It is a festive celebration of two lives joined into one. But after every wedding comes a marriage. It has been said that "a marriage may be made in heaven, but the maintenance
must be done on earth." Just as there will be times of celebration in every marriage, there certainly will be times of challenge, too.
While our human nature would lead us to hope for the best in life, our human experience would have us prepare for the worst. Call it being realistic.
Wedding Vows
This reality is acknowledged in the traditional wedding vows when a couple pledges their loyalty to one another "in sickness and in health." Without
prior planning, disability due to an illness or injury can add unnecessary legal and financial challenges to any marriage. Fortunately, some preventive "maintenance" now could help avoid
disaster later. In this article we review some of the most essential preventive measures to help you honor your wedding vows.
Legal Challenges
Most married couples, whether celebrating their six-month or their sixtieth anniversary, have the mistaken belief that they can make personal, health care and
financial decisions for one another, without outside interference, should either spouse become disabled. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Problem: Every adult American citizen is responsible for making their own personal, health care and financial decisions. Accordingly, if one spouse is legally disabled, then
the other spouse will not automatically have access to the disabled spouse’s medical information, bank accounts, retirement plans, etc. In fact, the healthy spouse will not be able
to file a joint income tax return for the couple.
Consequence: Unless you already have legally appointed your spouse to be your Agent to make your decisions in the event of your disability, then decisions regarding
your personal, health care and financial affairs could come to a screeching halt! You and your spouse may find yourselves involuntary participants in the Lawyer Full-Employment Program
of the Probate Court.
First, the non-disabled spouse may be required to hire an attorney to bring a lawsuit declaring the disabled spouse legally disabled, and asking the Probate Court to
give the non-disabled spouse the legal authority to act on behalf of the disabled spouse.
Second, the Probate Judge (i.e., lawyer #2) may appoint another lawyer (not in the same law practice as the first lawyer) to represent the disabled spouse against their
non-disabled spouse. Eventually, after considerable red tape, expense and disclosure of private matters (i.e., personal, health care and financial), the Probate Judge likely will appoint
the non-disabled spouse as the Guardian over personal and health care matters, and as Conservator over financial matters.
Fortunately, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to avoiding the Lawyer Full-Employment Program. Bottom line: If you are at least 18 years
old, whether married or single, then you need to legally appoint someone you trust (whether a spouse or otherwise) to make your personal, health care and financial decisions. These
critical legal documents should include a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions/Health Care Treatment Directive (or Living Will), and a Durable Power of Attorney
for Financial Matters.
Financial Challenges
During your working years, be sure to maintain adequate Disability Income Insurance in case you are unable to work due to an injury or illness. Many
families are forced into bankruptcy when the household income is suddenly insufficient to meet financial obligations.
Then, after your working years, your Disability Income Insurance (i.e., once needed to insure a steady paycheck upon disability) should be replaced by Long-Term Care
Insurance to pay for long-term health care (e.g., nursing home). Without it, many couples are forced to rely on Medicaid (i.e., welfare) to pay for their long-term care after their
assets have been depleted to the poverty level.
|
