Jul 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Martin M. Shenkman, partner, Martin M. Shenkman, P.C., Teaneck, N.J.

By: By Martin M. Shenkman, partner, Martin M. Shenkman, P.C., Teaneck, N.J.

About eight months ago, my wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). We immediately started to learn everything we could about the disease, so that we could make informed decisions concerning treatment, lifestyle and other critical issues. Once those major issues were addressed, we had to consider revising our personal estate planning documents.

The expected planning steps — durable power of attorney, revocable trust, health care proxy, living will and so on — immediately came to mind. However, these common planning techniques, with which practitioners are so familiar, need to be applied in a manner that reflects the unique characteristics of MS. The course of the disease, and hence planning for those who have it, is quite different from other neurological diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease), Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

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