Elder Law Starts at 18

It’s true!

Elder law is a misnomer.  When we hear the word “elder” we think about our grandparents or our grandparents.  We don’t think about the eighteen year old who just delivered our pizza and is set to graduate high school next week.

The simple truth is elder law planning is just as relevant for your grandchild as it is for you.

Think about just some of the reasons why you go to an elder law attorney:

• You want to protect yourself in the event of a sudden disability or death.

• You want to name a decision maker for your important health care decisions in case you can’t speak for yourself.

• You want to make sure the power bill is paid if you can’t write checks.

These are the same concerns the eighteen year old has, although he may not realize it yet.  The real truth is in most situations, once we turn eighteen we are on our own.  No one can make our decisions for us.  We have to name someone through a legal document (and have that document properly witnessed and notarized to be effective).  Without it, we end up at risk of ending up in a guardianship proceeding should we no longer have capacity to make our own decisions.