Resources
Legal documents checklist
Five core documents protect your loved one (and your sanity). Get them while capacity is intact — once it's gone, the courts make decisions instead of you.
Updated 2026-02-27
The five essential documents
- Durable Financial Power of Attorney — appoints someone to manage money, bills, taxes if your loved one can't.
- Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney (Healthcare Proxy) — appoints someone to make medical decisions.
- Living Will / Advance Directive — written wishes about life-sustaining treatment.
- POLST or MOLST (state-specific) — medical orders for end-of-life care signed by a doctor. Travels with the patient.
- Last Will and Testament — distributes assets after death. A revocable trust often complements or replaces this.
When to get them
- BEFORE diagnosis if possible.
- Within 90 days of diagnosis if capacity is still mostly intact.
- Many people with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia still have capacity to sign — talk to the attorney about a capacity letter from the doctor.
- After capacity is gone, only court-appointed guardianship/conservatorship works — slow, expensive, and adversarial.
Who creates them
- Elder-law attorney — best, ~$2,000–$5,000 for a full set. NAELA (National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys) has a finder.
- Online forms (LegalZoom, Trust & Will) — cheaper but less robust. Fine for simple situations.
- State bar association free / low-cost referral programs.
- VA caregiver legal support if your loved one is a veteran.
Frequently asked questions
- Can we draft them ourselves?
- Yes, but state requirements vary on witnesses, notaries, and language. A small mistake invalidates the document. An attorney is worth it for any family with assets, real estate, or complex relationships.
- What about HIPAA release?
- Add one. It allows providers to share medical info with the people on the list. Hospitals will refuse to talk without one — even to a healthcare proxy in some cases.
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