The Virtual Vault

Lifestrand: A new digital afterlife service

Lifestrand is a new social utility for sharing memories about your departed loved ones. This new digital afterlife service brings together people for purposes of celebrating the lives of those no longer with us.

A memorial is created for the deceased consisting of free space to upload photos, post written memories, and publish timelines that refer to events in your loved one's life.

James Bell

Advance directives not enough to avoid incapacity issues

My mother, who suffered from heart disease, always envisioned that she would die quickly from a massive heart attack. However, sadly, she lingered in poor health for many weeks before she finally passed away. Luckily, years before, she had an attorney draw up an estate plan.

Because of HIPAA laws, the nurses and doctors would not talk to me until I gave them a copy of her health care durable power of attorney. Because her doctor decided to honor her living will, she was spared from the feeding tube and received comfort care during her last pain-filled days.

Without the proper documents and consenting medical professionals, this situation could have been much worse. At minimum, you need to have a living will and a health care durable power of attorney. In some states, a Five Wishes form can be used as a substitute. In either case, you should complete these forms with the assistance of an attorney. If you choose to do-it-yourself, it's possible to omit crucial items. If you make a mistake, you will not get a second chance.

Make sure to discuss the contents of these documents with your physician. Don't assume that your physician has the same beliefs concerning "right to life" and "freedom of choice" issues as you do. If your physician does not agree with your choices, you might need to change physicians. Waiting until you are incapacitated is too late to find out that your attending physician will not provide treatment that agrees with your end-of-life choices. If possible, have your physician complete a Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form and keep it with your estate plan.

Make sure that your family members also understand your choices. Once again, don't just assume that they have the same exact beliefs as you. Family members could argue in court of law that you didn't fully understand the contents of your advance directives and have them revoked. Having an attorney complete your estate plan along with having your physician complete a POLST form ensures that you fully understand the contents of these documents.

You also need a clear understanding of exactly what treatment you can expect to receive at various health care institutions. For example, a hospital with a religious affiliation may choose not to honor your advance directives because the treatment conflicts with their religious doctrine. Moving an incapacitated patient to a new health care institution can be a frustrating and stressful experience at best.

Most important of all, no matter how much time you spend preparing these documents, they can't be used if they can't be found. Keep your original copies and store backup copies in a virtual safe deposit box (VSDB). It's an ideal place to make sure that your advance directives are available when they're needed most!

James Bell

Are you good to go?

The Good to Go Toolkit and Good to Go Resource Guide were created by CompassionAndChoices.org to help you identify your end of life priorities and help ensure that your final wishes are honored. These materials were designed to guide the decision making process and help communicate your decisions to loved ones.

James Bell

POLST / MOLST helps with end of life decisions

A Physician (or Medical) Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment form is a one-page form your physician can use to turn your wishes into specific written medical orders. Your physician may use this form to write orders that reflect the types of life-sustaining treatment that you do or do not want and that are appropriate for your medical si tuation.

To find out what states have POLST/MOLST forms go to www.ohsu.edu/polst or ask your physician if they are available in your state.

James Bell

What are your duties as an executor?

About 10 years before my mother died, she went to an attorney and drew up an estate plan. She named me as the executor of her estate. After reading over the plan, I did not quite understand the amount of work needed to settle an estate. Years later, when she died, I found out. This responsibility consumed untold hours of my time and it took years to settle her estate.

If you are named the executor of someone’s estate, I highly recommend that you find out exactly what you are getting yourself into. You may have to travel great distances and take time off work. Although your exact situation will be different, these articles explain the process enough to prepare yourself.

The Duties of an Estate Executor
Pauline Go

Executor Responsibilities and Duties
estatesettlement.com

James Bell

Talking about Your Final Wishes

Talking about death is an uncomfortable subject. Most of us expect to die quickly, but the sad fact is that many of us may linger in poor health for an extended period. Talking and planning for death is one of the most important things you can do for you and your family.

AARP has published an excellent article on this topic called "Talking about Your Final Wishes". Make sure to have that talk soon. You owe it to your family!

James Bell

Advance Directives: Put It In Writing

An advance directive is your life on your terms. Whether you're 18 or 80, documenting your wishes today means your family won't have to make heart-wrenching decisions later.

The American Hospital Association website PutItInWritting.org contains must read information on advance health care directives.

James Bell

LBS technology to revolutionize home inventory services

Location Based Services (LBS) will soon provide powerful solutions that provide real-time tracking of personal property. Small inexpensive devices, known as S5 tags, periodically transmit their location through a rapid-response wide area network. Location information passes to a telemetry server, which in turn, is sent to an application through the Internet.

These tags incorporate the necessary electronics, battery compartment, antenna elements and external housings to allow the device to act as a self-contained transmitter. In addition to location information, a tag can also transmit other information, such as temperature, meter readings, running hours, fluid levels and more.

Battery life is estimated at 4 years and individual tags are priced at under $10. On-going service is about $1 per month per tag.

A tag can be inconspicuously attached to your personal property. If your property is lost or stolen, it’s location can be instantly determined, greatly reducing recovery time.

James Bell

Sources:
S5 Technology
S5 Wireless

S5 Tracking Chips Will Run for Four Years, Cost $2, Weigh Nothing
Gizmodo.com

Subpoena wielding authorities get full contents of Yahoo! account for $80

Cryptome has assembled a set of "Lawful Spying Guides" which spell out a company's requirements for divulging your account information. According to the Yahoo! Compliance Guide for Law Enforcement, with a subpoena (and $80) you can get the entire contents of a person's Yahoo! account. The document does not mention anything about estate planning legal documents, so my assumption is that having a will or power of attorney is not good enough. Make sure to consult a legal professional for exact details on your specific situation.

James Bell

Collecting Life Insurance

My mother named me as a beneficiary on her life insurance policy. When she died, I called the insurance company and found out that before distributing any funds they required a death certificate and a copy of the life insurance policy. The death certificate was the easy part. Where was the life insurance policy?

I quickly located the life insurance premium statements and a cover letter from the insurance salesman. I called the insurance company again. They were adamant, without a copy of the entire life insurance policy there was no payout. It didn’t make sense to me…why didn’t they already have a copy of the policy?

Hours later, I found the policy in a stack of papers. It was over 10 pages long! I made a copy and sent it to them. Several weeks later, I received a check.

This little experience taught me how vital it is to have your final affairs in order, before you die. This is one of the many reasons why we created Estate++, a virtual safe deposit box that helps you organize your affairs.

James Bell