We held our second Lunch and Learn program for 2024 on April 3rd. Our speaker, Katie Woods, is a St George native and Attorney specializing in Elder Care Services, Estate Planning and Guardianship. As we had learned during Katie's two previous visits to Good Shepherd, she is more than qualified to help us unlock the mysteries about which end-of-life documents are necessary for proper and legal Estate Planning.

As Katie emphasized, because we never know when an accident or tragedy might befall us, it is important to have legal documents in place which we have created and which reflect, without question, our personal wishes.

Important to have in place are an Advance Health Care Directive, through which we name someone as our Agent with the power to make health care decisions if we are unable, a Living Will, which indicates our wishes about care measures to be undertaken and a POLST or Provider Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment document, which is a medical order containing our DNR wishes. The POLST does not replace but serves as an important companion document to the Advance Directive and must be completed by a medical professional or provider. The Utah Advance Health Care Directive, which includes a Living Will, can be created without need for a Notary but the POLST must be completed by a medical professional. All three documents may be accessed online at no charge and once created, are active only while we are alive . A copy of each should be kept available in your home and also should be conveyed to your medical provider and local hospital so there will be no uncertainty about your wishes in the case of emergency.

It is also advised that you appoint an Attorney-in-Fact, (POA), to whom you grant permission to act on your behalf while you are alive but may be unable to make critical personal property and financial decisions for yourself. This person does not have to be a relative but should be someone with whom you share a mutual respect, basic philosophy of life and who will agree to serve guided only by what is in your best interest.

Katie also discussed the role of Probate and stressed the importance of having a Will and/or Trust so that in the event of your passing, your wishes and directives regarding distribution of personal property and other assets are clearly defined by you. She emphasized we should never take for granted or assume how our heirs may react at such a time. Funds or property undesignated by the tenants of a Will become the property of the State of Utah.

Because our thoughts about inheritance or assignment of property may change or a state may have altered its Health Directives forms, it is advised that we review our documents once a year. Once created, Estate Planning documents from other states are most likely valid but to avoid any opportunity for dispute, it is advisable to have updated forms in place which are provided and approved by one's current state of residence.

In summary, Katie stated that the job of Estate Planning is to help us Plan for a worst case scenario while Hoping for the best.

If you would like to listen to the audio from Katie's presentation, it can be found here. The handout from the presentation can be found here.