Professional Wills. Do You Need One?
What is a Professional Will?
I can’t remember when I first heard that we need a professional will, but it was years into being in private practice. I had never heard the term before, had no idea what it was, or how to do it. Which meant that I didn’t do anything about it for a very long time.
It’s far too easy to avoid doing the things we need to do to protect our private practice. It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed.
Honestly, what finally prompted me to do it were two things. My electronic health records system allows you to store a copy of your will (which prompted me to tell myself again, “Hey, you really should get you one of those”), and my husband and I got our personal wills done. We had the attorney add a professional will when she wrote our personal will.
Do you need one?
Well to answer that, you need to understand what a professional will is. It’s a document that provides instructions for how to handle client notifications and client files in the event you become incapacitated or die. So, you tell me. Do you need this for your practice? Probably. Otherwise, what exactly will happen in the event you pass? Who tells your clients? Who takes care of your files? Who submits final insurance claims, closes out balances, etc?
You need to have a plan for how your clients and client records will be managed in the event of your death.
What if you could successfully set up your practice without the mistakes most therapists make?
What if you could do it without feeling stressed out and overwhelmed?
My Private Practice Builder Master Course and Mini Courses are here to make that happen. Check them out now!
How do you get a professional will?
Honestly, it’s not complicated. You can either have one drawn up by an attorney or simply do one yourself. I was already at the attorney’s office for a will, so I just had her add it on. But there’s no shortage of sample professional wills out there that are DIY. Your professional organization should be able to provide a sample professional will for you to use. I’m not an attorney, so don’t take legal advice from me. But it seems to be a straightforward document. Essentially you need to assign someone to be the custodian of your records and assign someone to contact your clients. These can be the same person. You will need to leave instructions for how the person will access your clients’ information as well as your files. This becomes very important if you keep electronic health records vs paper files.
That’s it. It’s a simple but crucial task as you are establishing your practice.
If you want to know more about the logistics of setting up a private practice, including crucial information you need to run your practice successfully and make sure you are not missing any legal must haves, don’t miss the Mini Course, The Logistics.
Master The Logistics You NEED To Know To Run Your Private Practice. Find Out Exactly What You Need To Do And Exactly How To Do It.
- I show you exactly how and where to get a business license.
- Paying your taxes so you don’t get fined at the end of the year.
- How a CPA can save you headaches and money.
- Liability insurance – you don’t want to go without coverage!
- NPI Number – what it is, how to get one, and why you need to have one.
- Property taxes and your office.
- What a Professional Will is and why you need one.
- The perks of joining a professional organization.
- The low down on websites, including why they are crucial and how to get one.
- How to track your finances so you don’t end up a stressed-out mess at the end of the year.
- Managing your schedule so you stay sane.
- Bonus Resource #1! The Private Practice Checklist
- Bonus Resource #2! Why A Checklist is Not Enough. The One Thing I Recommend You Do First.
To find out more crucial information about the steps you need to take when starting your private practice check out The Master Course, Everything You Need To Know About Private Practice But Didn’t Know To Ask. To get the same information in more affordable, bite size pieces, don’t miss the Mini Courses!
I love helping therapists build successful private practices! For more great information like this to help you build yours, make sure to check out the Master Course and the Mini Courses. I’m here to support you and I want to help you reach your dream!
If you needsome individual help with all of this I’m here for you! I offer mentoring services for those who want some personal attention to help them build their successful private practice. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me. You can find out more on the Mentoring Groups page.
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