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The following is an excerpt
from the publication's introduction:
As used in this booklet, the concept of
"life planning" includes the management of your property and
your life right now, as well as planning for death and disability.
Every individual in this country, whether lesbian, gay, non-gay,
HIV-positive, or HIV-negative needs to consider what he or she would
want to happen if death or disability interrupted his or her
expectations about the future.
Planning for the unexpected is particularly
crucial if you are a lesbian or gay man. Why? Because if you fail to
make your choices known in advance, the legal system will choose for
you. Another way to say this is "there is no such thing as doing
nothing" under the law; that is, the law always has a default
rule for people who don't make explicit plans. For example, if you
fail to make a will, your property will go to those persons whom the
state has decided are your intestate1 heirs. If you fail to name in
advance the person who should take care of you should you become
unable to care for yourself, the state has its own list of preferred
guardians. Because the state's "default choices" are based
on the structures of a non-gay nuclear family, these choices generally
do not reflect the wishes of most lesbians and gay men.
But you can counter the state's presumption that
all persons are living in non-gay nuclear families by drafting legal
documents that declare your own personal choices. While many of us
only begin to look into estate planning when we are settled into a
long-term relationship, have children, or face a life-threatening
illness, legal documents such as wills and powers of attorney are
important for everyone who wants to decide who receives their property
at death or who will see to their health care needs if they cannot
care for themselves.
The purpose of this Lambda booklet is to
familiarize you with the types of legal documents available to you and
to encourage you to use appropriate documents to plan your own life
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