In fact, creating a living will is a smart idea, one that can save no small amount of expense, suffering and confusion on the part of your family and your medical care providers, and we aren’t the only ones who think so. Robert Powell of The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch agrees with us, and has written an excellent article answering the frequently asked questions about living wills, explaining the differences between a living will and a health care directive, and outlining why each and every adult should have one of these documents.

If you still aren’t convinced you should have a document specifying your wishes for end-of-life treatment, talk to any friend or acquaintance who has been through this final act of love in supporting a family member at end of life. When you are ready, we can help you execute the documents you need to get the care you want when you aren’t able to care for yourself. A living will or health care directive is a standard document in any estate plan, so if you’ve been considering creating an estate plan this may be a good time to take the plunge. Apparently executing a living will or health care directive is no longer beneficial only to you and your family; it’s also good for your country.

At first glance, this may seem like a great idea; what could be better than having your healthcare records and your end-of-life wishes stored in one easily accessible place? And Google does their best to make it easy for you to create an advanced directive with them as well. The problem is, not all advanced directives are created equal.

As important as it is to have an advanced healthcare directive, and to specify your wishes for your healthcare agent and your end-of-life care, it is just as important to do it the right way. First of all, each state has its own rules and regulations regarding the legality of your healthcare directive. Secondly, those laws have a tendency to change periodically, and if you aren’t going to be able to keep abreast of these changes you need to have an attorney who will. And last but not least, hospitals take their responsibility regarding patient privacy, the wishes of the patient, and the wishes of the family very seriously. Hospitals will often not talk to your agent or release information about your healthcare status unless you have a directive that complies with all the laws of your state AND you have a signed and updated HIPAA Authorization.

Before jumping on the “great deal” Google offers, talk to your attorney about your own healthcare directive and HIPAA Authorization. If you are determined to take advantage of the opportunity to put all of your healthcare documents online, rather than using Google’s “easy” forms, it might be a better idea to upload your own professionally created documents.

The Trust: Many families feel that this is the heart of the estate plan, and as such the most important part.  As the document that outlines your wishes for distribution amounts, designates beneficiaries, nominates trustees, defines your incapacity and lists your assets—there is definitely reason to think the trust an important part of your plan.

Healthcare Directive: Some people are more concerned with how their end-of-life wishes are carried out than with the distribution of their estate. Those people consider the healthcare directive—the document that sets out your wishes for medical treatment, resuscitation, and healthcare agents—the most important component of an estate plan.

Guardianship Documents: Parents of young children are often more concerned with the guardianship portion of their estate plan than any other portion; they trust that as long as their children are in the hands of loving and responsible guardians all the rest is secondary.

The Will: Some believe the will to be the most important document.  This is especially true of single people at the older or younger end of the spectrum, who feel they don’t have enough assets to require a trust.

Powers of Attorney: Very few people feel this document by itself is the “most important”, but most people understand that as the document that confers fiduciary powers on your chosen agents, the Power of Attorney has an importance of its own.

These components are all helpful and necessary pieces of an entire estate plan, but the most important part of your estate plan is something else entirely; something  grantors and beneficiaries, rich and poor, young and old, attorneys and clients alike can all agree on—the most important part of your estate plan is creating it!