| Course | GF593 Estate Planning |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 4 |
| Paper type | Incapacity document set |
| Length | About 890 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MS in Finance |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for GF593 Unit 4
Nine Months of Bills: A Unit 4 Incapacity Document Set for an Arizona Couple
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
GF593: Estate Planning
Unit 4 Incapacity Document Set
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The couple, their accounts and every amount are composite and illustrative; the statute and studies cited are real; the summaries describe documents for discussion with an Arizona attorney and are coursework, not legal advice.
Cover Memo
To: Carol and Jim Delgado Re: Documents to sign this month
Carol, your neurologist's report gives us a window. Mild cognitive impairment does not mean you have lost the ability to make decisions, and you can sign every document below today. It does mean we should not wait. People with this diagnosis often lose some ability to manage money within a year, even while day-to-day conversation seems unchanged (Triebel et al., 2009).
Why the money matters first. Your pension of $1,240 a month is deposited to a checking account in your name alone. Your brokerage account of $142,000 and your IRA of $318,000 are also yours alone. Jim can sign only on your joint checking account, which receives your two Social Security checks, $4,270 a month together. Your household spends about $6,240 a month. If Jim could use only the joint account, he would be $1,970 short every month, and the $18,000 balance in that account would run out in about nine months.
Without a signed power of attorney, the joint account carries the household for about nine months; after that, Jim's only route to Carol's money is a court conservatorship.
A conservatorship in Arizona requires a petition, a court-appointed attorney for Carol, medical evidence, a hearing, a bond and annual accountings filed with the court. It is slower, public and more expensive than signing the documents below now.
Financial mistakes also become more likely with age, and older adults are frequent targets of fraud, which is a second reason to have a trusted agent watching the accounts (Agarwal et al., 2009).
Document 1: Durable Financial Power of Attorney
Agent: Jim. Successor agent: your daughter, Ana.
When it takes effect: immediately on signing. A springing power, one that takes effect only when a doctor certifies incapacity, would delay Jim exactly when the bills are due, and banks often hesitate to accept the certification.
Powers granted expressly: paying bills and taxes; managing your checking, brokerage and IRA, including taking required distributions; dealing with Social Security and the pension administrator; selling or leasing real estate; signing tax returns; transferring assets into a revocable trust you have already created; and accessing digital accounts and statements. Gifting and changing beneficiary designations are left out unless you want to allow them with limits, because those powers are the ones most open to abuse.
Signing requirements: in Arizona the document must be signed in front of a notary and one witness, and the witness cannot be Jim or a close relative of his, so Ana should not serve as the witness either (A.R.S. § 14-5506, 2025).
After signing: take the document to each institution now. Many custodians ask agents to complete their own forms, which is easier while you can confirm the instructions yourself.
Document 2: Health Care Power of Attorney
Agent: Jim. Successor: Ana.
This document lets Jim make medical decisions if you cannot, including consent to treatment, choice of providers and placement in a care facility. It also states that your agent should follow the wishes you have written in your living will. Arizona lets a principal give an agent authority over mental health care in the same document, but that authority must be written out expressly, so the draft should say whether Jim may consent to inpatient psychiatric care if it is ever recommended. Leaving the point silent would force a separate court process at a hard moment.
Document 3: Living Will
The living will records your choices about life-sustaining treatment in specific situations, such as a permanent coma or the late stage of a terminal illness. You told me you would not want a feeding tube if you could no longer recognize your family. Writing that down protects Jim and Ana from having to guess, and it protects you if they disagree.
Document 4: HIPAA Authorization
This short form lets your doctors share medical information with Jim and Ana even before you lose capacity. Without it, providers may refuse to talk with them, which would leave them unable to help with appointments or medications. It takes effect immediately and does not give anyone authority to make decisions.
Jim's Documents
Jim should sign the same four documents, naming Carol and Ana. If Jim became ill first, Carol would face the same nine-month problem in reverse, since his IRA and his half of their savings are in his name.
This Month's Steps
1. Schedule signing with an Arizona attorney within two weeks, with a notary and an independent witness present.
2. Ask the neurologist for a short letter stating that Carol understands the documents she is signing.
3. Deliver copies of the financial power of attorney to the bank, the brokerage, the IRA custodian and the pension administrator.
4. Give the health care documents to Carol's primary care physician and neurologist, and keep a copy in the car.
5. Review the documents with Ana so she knows where they are and what each one does.
References
Agarwal, S., Driscoll, J. C., Gabaix, X., & Laibson, D. (2009). The age of reason: Financial decisions over the life cycle and implications for regulation. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2009(2), 51-117. https://doi.org/10.1353/eca.0.0067
A.R.S. § 14-5506 (2025).
Triebel, K. L., Martin, R., Griffith, H. R., Marceaux, J., Okonkwo, O. C., Harrell, L., Clark, D., Brockington, J., Bartolucci, A., & Marson, D. C. (2009). Declining financial capacity in mild cognitive impairment: A 1-year longitudinal study. Neurology, 73(12), 928-934. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181b87971
Reading the GF 593 Unit 4 instructions
Unit 4 of GF593 asks you to assemble the documents a client needs while capacity remains, and to explain each one. Open with a cover memo addressed to the clients that shows, in their own figures, what would happen if no documents existed. Identify which accounts sit in one spouse's name and which the other can reach. Then summarize each document in a page or less: who acts, when the authority begins, what powers are granted and what is left out on purpose. Explain why an immediately effective power of attorney is usually better than a springing one. Note the state's signing requirements, since a document executed incorrectly can be refused. Address health care decisions, end-of-life wishes and access to medical information separately. Include matching documents for the healthier spouse and a short list of steps for the coming month. Cite the Arizona statute and research on financial capacity in APA 7.
How this GF593 Unit 4 example is built
The cover memo begins with the neurologist's report and Triebel and colleagues' finding that financial skills often decline within a year of this diagnosis. The money section totals $4,270 of Social Security in joint checking against $6,240 of monthly costs, a $1,970 gap that empties the $18,000 balance in about nine months. The highlighted sentence names a conservatorship as the alternative, and a paragraph describes what that proceeding involves. Agarwal and colleagues' work on financial mistakes in later life supports the case for a trusted agent. The financial power of attorney names Jim, then Ana, takes effect on signing and lists its powers, leaving out gifting and beneficiary changes. The Arizona notary and witness rule from A.R.S. § 14-5506 follows. Health care, living will and HIPAA summaries come next, then Jim's matching documents and five dated steps.
GF593 Unit 4 rubric: what earns full points
In this GF593 set, the cover memo matters more than any single summary, since it shows why the documents matter to this household. Instructors reward a cash flow analysis built from the clients' own accounts rather than a general warning about incapacity. Each document summary is graded on clarity about who acts, when and with what limits. The choice between an immediately effective and a springing power is a frequent test of judgment, and so is the decision to leave out risky powers such as gifting. Correct execution requirements for the state show professional care. Credit also goes to completeness: health care authority, end-of-life instructions and access to medical records are separate needs. Including documents for the healthier spouse demonstrates that the plan serves the household. A neurology study, a Brookings paper on financial decisions with age and the Arizona statute, in APA 7, support the set.
Common GF593 Unit 4 mistakes, and how to avoid them
GF593 Unit 4 submissions often list the four documents without showing why this family needs them now. A cover memo built on the household's own cash flow is far more persuasive than general statements about aging. Some writers recommend a springing power of attorney without noting the delay and bank resistance it can cause. Others grant every possible power, including gifting and beneficiary changes, without discussing the risk. State signing requirements are frequently skipped, though they decide whether the document will be accepted. Health care documents are sometimes merged into one paragraph, blurring the agent's authority, written wishes and access to records. The healthier spouse is often forgotten entirely. Keep each summary short and specific, explain each choice in a sentence, and close with steps the clients can complete within a few weeks while the person with the diagnosis can still sign.
Get a GF593 Unit 4 example written to your instructions
Incapacity planning turns on titling, so note which of the client's accounts are joint and which are sole, along with the Unit 4 case, rubric and state. A cover memo, four document summaries and the monthly gap arrive together, each tied to those accounts. The first custom sample is free; turnaround is 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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GF593 Unit 4 questions, answered
Does the set need actual document text?
Most sections want summaries and reasoning rather than full forms. The sample describes each document in under a page: authority granted, agents, effective date and exclusions. Where a prompt asks for statutory forms, a note can say which form the state provides, while the analysis explains why each choice suits the client. Formal execution remains a licensed attorney's work.
Why is a HIPAA authorization included separately?
A health care power usually operates once a physician finds the patient unable to decide, and until then privacy rules can keep providers from speaking with family. A standalone authorization lets named people receive information immediately, which matters during a gradual decline like the one in the case. The sample treats it as the smallest document and the one most often forgotten.
What if the client has already lost capacity?
Then the documents can no longer be signed, and the paper should say so. The usual route becomes a court proceeding for guardianship of the person or conservatorship of the property, with its costs, delay and ongoing supervision. Some prompts present exactly that case on purpose; a strong answer explains the proceeding and what earlier planning would have avoided.
Where can I find a free GF593 Unit 4 sample paper?
This page carries a full GF593 Unit 4 incapacity document set for an Arizona couple after a mild cognitive impairment diagnosis, with a cash flow cover memo, four document summaries, the husband's documents and APA 7 references.
Why not use a springing power of attorney in GF593 Unit 4?
A springing power takes effect only after a doctor certifies incapacity, which can delay the agent exactly when bills are due, and many banks hesitate to accept the certification. An immediately effective power lets Jim act at once while Carol remains involved.