I know from experience while I was a caring for my mom, that when you are a caregiver you have little time and lots of questions. Many of my questions concerning legal matters were answered by experts in plain English, and for free, at the semi-annual Family Estate Planning Series that is underwritten by KNPB and the Community Foundation.
As if the days weren’t confusing enough after mom’s hospitalization, I was unsure when Professionals asked if we had a Power of Attorney for Health Decisions or a Power of Attorney for financial and legal matters. Later in the caregiving journey, I was left with an unnerving POLST form after a visit from the Hospice team, and was faced with questions about mom’s financial assets as I considered nursing care.
I highly recommend the Series to you. The Family Estate Planning Series eight classes are taught by volunteer experts in their fields. The 90-minute classes are held twice a day in the morning and afternoon at the centrally located Sierra View Library.
As the Communications Director at the Community Foundation I customized the Wills Guide to be used at the Series last class and found the booklet extremely helpful. The Wills Guide helped me broach sensitive topics with Mom as we paged through it together. She had definite opinions about her health care and estate plans and talking about them in a no-nonsense manner after taking the class made clear to me the responsibility I was accepting.
Over the past decade, more than 1,100 people in our community have attended the free Family Estate Planning Series. The classes introduce you to methods, strategies, documents, and resources that are not well known or understood, and they do so in a safe environment. Classes cover the estate planning, wills, probate and trusts, responsibilities of fiduciaries, executors and successor trustees, gift, estate, and transfer taxes, powers of attorney, health care directives, Medicaid, long-term care, estate planning for digital assets and planned giving.
The Series begins Wednesday, March 28 and runs weekly at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. You can find more information about the Family Estate Planning Series, including the class schedule and presenters, as well as the sponsors involved in bringing the Series to you on the Community Foundation website, nevadafund.org. Call the Community Foundation of Northern Nevada to reserve your place and learn answers to your questions. 775-333-5499.
Click here for additional planning resources.
By,
Margaret Stewart
Communications Director
Community Foundation of Western Nevada