Life planning services encompass a range of legal and financial tools, such as wills, guardianships, powers of attorney, and advanced directives, designed to help individuals plan for and manage important decisions regarding their assets, healthcare, and end-of-life preferences. These services aim to protect and empower individuals by ensuring that their wishes are carried out in the event of incapacity or death, and by providing a roadmap for their loved ones to follow.

LSNV’s Elder Law Practice Group provides a variety of services for clients who are 60 years of age and older, and, in limited circumstances, clients under 60 years of age. Issues we may offer assistance with, ranging from brief telephone advice to in-court representation are:

Advance Directives Health Care Powers of Attorney | Living Wills | General Durable Powers of Attorney | Uncontested Guardianships | Removal/ Modify existing Guardianships

Advance Directive and Health Care Power of Attorney: There may come a time when you are unable to express your healthcare wishes because you are seriously ill or injured. An advance directive or a health care power of attorney document typically includes instructions on the use of life-sustaining treatments and appoints a healthcare proxy you trust to make medical decisions when you may be unable.

Wills: If you own any property or have children under 18, you may want to have a plan for who gets what when you pass away. A will is a document that outlines your wishes regarding who should inherit your property, money, and other possessions, and appoints an executor to carry out these instructions.

Durable Power of Attorney: There may come a time when you are unable to act in your own best interests due to capacity or health concerns. A power of attorney allows you to appoint a trusted individual to make decisions, sign documents, and manage your affairs in accordance with instructions you provide in the document.

Guardianship and Conservatorship:

A guardianship is where a court appoints an individual or entity to make personal and medical decisions on behalf of an incapacitated person. The process involves a court hearing to evaluate the need for guardianship (whether an individual is incapacitated and if guardianship is in their best interest) and to appoint a suitable guardian who will act on behalf of and in the best interest of the incapacitated person in accordance with Virginia laws and regulations.

A conservatorship is where a court appoints an individual or organization to manage an incapacitated person’s finances, assets, and property in their best interest. Virginia law outlines the conservator’s responsibilities in managing the protected person’s estate, the reporting and review processes to ensure the proper administration of the conservatorship, and the safeguards in place to protect the assets and financial well-being of the protected person.