Creating an estate plan is necessary if you want to effectively leave your assets to your loved ones and protect your healthcare and financial interests in the event of incapacitation. Yet, if your estate plan is going to ruffle feathers, then you should anticipate an estate plan challenge. This is especially true if you suffer from a medical condition like Alzheimer’s or dementia. But if you have one of these conditions, you can still create an enforceable estate plan.
How you can create a valid estate plan even if you suffer from Alzheimer’s
When it comes to determining the legality of your estate plan, one of the most important issues is your mental competency. If there are indications that you were confused or didn’t understand the nature and extent of your assets and how your estate plan disposes of those assets, then there’s a good chance that an estate plan challenge will be successful.
So, if you want to protect your interests here and demonstrate that you possessed the requisite mental capacity at the time of your estate plan creation, you should be prepared to do the following:
- Visit your doctor close in time to your estate plan execution so that you can obtain an opinion as to your mental competency.
- Give gifts to those you expect to challenge your estate so that their acceptance will constitute an acknowledgement of the minimum mental capacity needed to dispose of your assets as you see fit.
- Have plenty of witnesses observe the execution of your estate plan so that they can attest to your mental clarity at the time.
- Utilize a no-contest clause so that those who unsuccessfully try to challenge your estate plan will be cut out of your inheritance scheme.
Know how to protect the viability of your estate plan
Dealing with a medical condition like Alzheimer’s or dementia is tough enough as it is. If you don’t approach your estate planning appropriately, then you could be in for even more challenges. That’s why now is a good time to develop your legal strategy. Hopefully then you can rest assured that you’ve done everything to protect your estate, your loved ones and your vision of the future.