OK, so maybe thatís what many of us think about as the last day of the calendar year approaches. Attorney Alan Kopit would like us to think about something else, howeverósomething a bit more serious and a lot more important.

This year, when you raise your glass to toast the coming year, Kopitóa partner at the Cleveland-based law firm, Hahn Loeser & Parks, LLPówould like you to think about how youíre going to protect yourself and your loved ones in 2007.

Donít worry if that suggestion leaves you a little befuddled. Kopit says most people donít think about, let alone perform, the annual legal ìcheck-upsî he suggests until theyíre forced to.

ìItís very difficult to talk about estate planning issues and things that will take place after your death,î he explains. ìItís just a simple problem of inertia.î

That said, ìonce youíve done the legal check-up the first time, the only follow up required is calling up your lawyer and discussing major significant events in your life that may require a re-examination,î Kopit adds. ìIf you have had a life change, such as a birth of a child or inheritance of property, this just requires a one-time sit down with an attorney.î

Steps to Protection
So what is an annual legal check-up, anyway? According to Kopit, it ìconsists of the steps families must undertake to ensure their family and property is, legally speaking, properly protected. An annual legal check-up can be different for every familyówhat needs to be ëcheckedí is determined by what type of family one has and its individual needs.î

Here are a few things Kopit says all families should include in their annual check-ups:

1. Become intimately familiar with your health-care plan. ìThe law creates standards for insurance companies, but in most cases, the law is the least common denominator,î Kopit says. ìIf you become knowledgeable about what exactly your health-insurance plan covers and does not cover, you can pick up where the law leaves off.î Youíre then able to take steps towards ensuring your health coverage is what you want or need it to be.

2. Consider creating a cohabitation agreement. According to Kopit, unmarried individuals living together in the U.S. now exceed the number of married individuals living together. However, in the event of a break-up or a dispute, the law does not have similar decision-making provisions as it does in the event of a divorce. ìBy creating a cohabitation agreement, regardless if the living situation is romantic or plutonic,î he says, ìthe parties contractually have agreed on how to deal with unique situations.î

3. Consider creating a prenuptial agreement. In the event of marriage, Kopit says, while the law has provisions regarding the division of assets and child-custody, a prenuptial agreement ensures that decisions are made based upon what the couple agreed, not what the law mandates.

4. Draft a living will. A living will provides medical instructions that are to be followed if an individual is unable to make a medical decision. For example, a course of treatment preferred or not desired and instructions regarding life-support would be encompassed in a living will. Kopit says drafting a living will is especially important for GLBT folk. ìBecause partners do not have the same rights as married couples, access and decision-making abilities are limited,î he explains. ìIf you have a living will, your desires can be implemented by a designated person.î

5. Draft a will. Along the same lines, Kopit says itís important to draft a will that designates who receives what property upon your death. ìIf you donít have a will at the time of your death, the state is in charge of distributing your property, This is done according to a stringent set of laws that cannot take into account unique aspects of human relationships and desires.î

Again, Kopit stresses the importance of wills for GLBT families. ìFor example, if a person does not have a will, but is married, under the law the majority of the property will go to the husband or wife. But, in a situation where a GLBT individual has been in a committed relationship for decades, if no will is created that property is not automatically distributed to the partner via the law.î

6. Designate a health care power-of-attorney. Whomever you designate as your health care power-of-attorney will make medical decisions on your behalf in the case you are unable to do so.

This is yet another key step for GLBT individuals and couples, Kopit says. ìAs is all too common in the GLBT community, partners are denied access to each other in hospitals because they are not considered to be ëspouses.í If an individual designates a health-care power of attorney, no doctor or hospital can deny such access or decision-making ability.î

Adding Children to the Mix
GLBT families with children have to check an additional set of boxes when completing their annual legal review, Kopit says.

For instance, itís important for GLBT parents (and all parents, for that matter) to designate a guardian for their children.

ìThe law cannot accommodate for human nature, nor can it predict who you prefer to raise your children in the event of your death,î Kopit stresses. ìIn designating someone as the guardian of your children, you ensure the proper person is raising your child.î

Although things are a bit more cut and dry for heterosexual, married couples, things can get tricky for GLBT couples, Kopit adds.

ìParental rights are not necessarily automatically bestowed in these circumstances. So, to ensure that the individual you want raising your child in the event of your death or incapacitation receives those rights, you must designate a guardian for your children.î

Also important, according to Kopit: Become knowledgeable on being a primary caretaker. Regardless of whether youíre a grandparent raising your grandchildren, in a blended family or a member of the GLBT community, ìbeing familiar with your parental rights is important,î he says. ìOnce youíre knowledgeable on those rights and your status in the childís life, you can ensure that status and your rights are what they should be.î

Individuals and couples of all stripes should also become knowledgeable on the avenues to becoming a parent. Adoption laws, fertility laws and surrogacy laws vary state to state, for instance. ìIf you want to become a parent, itís important that youíre familiar with your stateís laws,î Kopit explains. ìThis ensures that you follow all the laws and use legal (and recommended or certified) means to becoming a parent.î

Daunting, But Do-able
The list likely seems daunting at first, Kopit acknowledges, ìbut not every person needs to do all of these things.î

The list ìis a guideline of what families should be aware of, and of what each should consider consulting an attorney about,î he adds. ìAll of these things are listed simply as a checklist, but arenít necessarily something that youíre going to need. It merely acts as an outline of things to discuss.î

Kopit says many of his suggestions can be tackled all at once ìby finding a lawyer who is knowledgeable in whatever areas affect you. An attorney specializing in family law can probably arrange a guardian or adoption of children and write a cohabitation or prenuptial agreement. An attorney specializing in estate planning can create a living will and will, and contractually designate a health-care power of attorney.î

Although many of the steps can conceivably be accomplished without an attorney, Kopit doesnít recommend it. ìThe reason itís a good idea to have a lawyer to conduct this legal check-up with you is because if some of these documents are not prepared correctly, youíre out of luck,î he says. ìFor example, if your will is prepared incorrectly, once it comes time to enforce that will, you are deceased and cannot fix the imperfections or assert what it is that you really intended.î

The most important piece of information to remember, however, may be that ìthe law can only do so much,î Kopit says. ìIf youíre familiar with the laws as they affect you, you are better equipped to take steps to ensure you are fully protected under the law.î

Thatís especially true for GLBT individuals and families, he adds, ìbecause the law cannot, and does not, keep up with non-traditional families. In all the areas (and there are many) where the law does not accommodate or apply to GLBT people, individuals have to take extra legal steps to ensure that the law does accommodate and apply to them.î