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Lights, Camera, Action -- Making a Wise Selection for Your Power of Attorney for Health Care By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi September 29, 2023 Hollywood sets are dark at the moment because of the SAG-AFTRA strike, but you can still cast your agent for Power of Attorney for Health Care in your estate plan.  Whether you are creating the document for the first time or completing a much-needed update, here are a few traits I think make for a high-quality power of attorney: An advocate -- who will champion your needs in today's health care system? Comfortable with Medical Jargon -- who will not shy away from medical speak and lingo? Follow Your Wishes -- who will speak for you rather than fly into town and start advancing their desires and wishes? Has the Time -- who can set aside a large portion of their life to pick-up managing your health care needs? Once you have this person in mind, and ideally a back-up, figure out if you can audition them for the role.  Have they provided this...

Is the Private College Named in your Will Still Operating? By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi September 22, 2023 September brings apple picking, bonfires and back-to-school rhythms.  Sadly, for several private colleges in the US, the hallways remain empty due to permanent closures.  Here in my home state of Wisconsin, Cardinal Stritch University , a small private Catholic college in Milwaukee, closed operations after 85 years of educating young adults. According to CNBC, since 2016, 91 US private colleges have closed, merged with another facility, or announced plans to stop operating .  More than half of those announcements cam after the 2020 pandemic began. Many of my clients name a college in a will as a recipient of a specific gift or a contingent beneficiary. Recent headlines suggest those clients should review their plans and check-in with the higher education entity named in the will.  Is it still operating?  Are there plans to merge or close?  What is the ...

From Good to Great, Where to Keep Your Power of Attorney for Health Care By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi September 15, 2023 The green illuminated numbers on my alarm clock glowed 1:57 am; nearly 20 years later, I can still see the time in my memory and recall the groggy phone call I had with the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics hospitalist who was calling in the middle of the night.   "Is this Melinda Gustafson Gervasi" barked the voice on the other end of my phone. "Yes" said with a rising tone indicating I wanted to know who was calling. "This is Doctor [a name I do not recall] with University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics calling about your mother, Sharon."  She then launched into rapid fire details of my mother's deteriorating health condition, ending with declaring her incapacitated and asking me to consent to an emergent procedure. In less than a minute the power of attorney for health care that had been added to my mother's hos...

Back-to-School Mode: Eight Items to Review in Your Estate Plan  September 8, 2023 By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2023 The final whistle at the outdoor pools here in Madison, Wisconsin blew earlier this week and school bells rang summoning students back to the classroom.  Whether your household runs on an academic calendar or does not, it is a good time of year to pull out your Estate Plan and complete a quick review.  Is everything up to date? Do you know the location of your original will and or living trust?  If you created a plan but cannot find it, it is as though you have no plan; Is your Power of Attorney for Healthcare on file with your primary care physician and hospital of record?  If not, contact their patient records department and find out how to place it on file for easy access if you are suddenly too ill to pull it out of your own files; Do you have an easy access list of phone numbers for the important people to call i...