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Who needs a will and proxy
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September 17, 2001: 7:54 p.m. ET
Wills, living wills and health proxies help ensure your wishes are followed
By Staff Writer Jeanne Sahadi
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - No one can blame you if you've put off writing your will. It rarely tops anyone's list of fun things to do.
But getting the basics of your estate plan in order is a smart idea because it lets you tell the world who you want to get your assets, how you want to be cared for in the event you have a terminal condition and who you want making health-care decisions for you if you're unable to make them yourself.
Writing a will: If you die without a will, the state decides who gets what you own – without regard to your wishes or your heirs' needs. If you're married with kids, typically that means your assets will be split between your surviving spouse and children. If you're single with no children, then the state is likely to decide who among your blood relatives will inherit your estate.
Making a will is especially important for people with young children, because wills are the best way to transfer guardianship of minors.
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 WHY A WILL?
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It tells the world who should get your assets
It's the best way to name a guardian for your children
It serves as a useful addition if you have a living trust
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You can amend your will at any time. In fact, you should review it periodically, and especially when your marital status changes. At the same time, review your beneficiary designations for your 401(k), IRA, pension and life insurance policy since those accounts will be transferred automatically to your named beneficiaries when you die.
A will is also useful if you have a trust. Trusts are legal mechanisms that let you put conditions on how your assets are distributed after your death, and they allow you to reduce your estate and gift taxes without the cost, delay and publicity of probate court, which administers wills.
Most trusts deal only with specific assets such as life insurance or a piece of property, but even if you have a revocable living trust – in which you may put the bulk of your assets – you still need what's known as a pour-over will. In addition to letting you name a guardian for your children, such a will insures that all the assets you intended to put into trust are put there if you fail to re-title some of them before your death.
Any assets that are not re-titled in the name of a trust are considered subject to probate. As a result, if you haven't specified in a will who should get those assets, a court may decide to distribute them to heirs whom you might not have chosen.
Making a living will: A living will – also known as an advance medical directive – is a statement of your wishes for the kind of life-sustaining medical intervention you want (and don't want) in the event that you become terminally ill and unable to communicate.
Most states have living will statutes that define when a living will goes into effect (for example, when a person has less than six months to live). And state law may restrict the medical interventions to which such directives apply.
Your condition and the terms of your directive also will be subject to interpretation. Different institutions and doctors may come to different conclusions. As a result, in some instances a living will may not be followed. But patients' wishes are taken very seriously, and an advance medical directive is one of the best ways to have a say in your medical care when you can't otherwise express yourself.
Assigning a health-care proxy: You increase your chances of enforcing your directive when you have a health-care agent advocating on your behalf.
You can name such an agent by way of a health-care proxy, or by assigning what's called a medical power of attorney. You sign a legal document in which you name someone you trust to make medical decisions on your behalf in the event that you can't do so for yourself.
A health-care proxy applies to all instances when you're incapacitated, not just if you're terminally ill.
Choose your health-care agent carefully. That person should be able to do three key things: understand important medical information regarding your treatment, handle the stress of making tough decisions, and keep your best interests and wishes in mind when making those decisions. 
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Family matters
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