In some respects, a single person may have more of a need for estate planning documents than a married one. A single person may be more adrift with no identifiable representatives to act on his or her behalf simply because of there being fewer obvious family ties. In Texas and all other states, an important goal of estate planning is to make sure that a person is taken care of in the most efficient way should he or she become incapacitated.
Single people will also benefit from estate planning documents
There are ways to estimate whether you will need long-term care
Whether one resides in Texas or another state, one of the dilemmas of long-term care planning is predicting whether such care will be needed in the future. More particularly, it is difficult to predict whether long-term care insurance, which is not inexpensive, should be purchased. Some organizations, however, do suggest that certain guidelines can be derived from recognized statistics.
Long-term care planning may be structured for staying at home
Many people would like to remain in their homes as they age and even during later periods of disability, as opposed to residing in a nursing home or other long-term care facility. There are services available here in Texas and nationally that may facilitate remaining in the home. However, the key is to make a long-term care plan that will incorporate all available resources.
Estate planning requires regular updating of the basic documents
Wills and living trusts should be updated to reflect changes in one's life as those events occur. When the person marries, or one's spouse dies, or when there is a divorce, such events create the need to revisit one's estate planning documents to make revisions. For example, if there is a divorce but the person who made a will during the marriage forgets to go back and revise it, the divorced spouse could potentially have a continuing interest in the maker's estate under Texas law and the law of other states.
