So many unsettling things going on in the world today. For many years, I thought of the “things” as being remote from me. Not now. Those “things” are at home.
Fortunately, my family is fine. Some of my friends, however, have had
experiences with loss- job, family members, housing, etc. It’s during this time of “what if” we have
the opportunity to become prepared for lessening the burden on our
family/friends. Whoever will have the
responsibility of dealing with our declining health, our material possessions,
our wishes, needs to know what we are thinking.
So, this goes back to my original topic of so many years ago-
wills, powers of attorney, lists of important documents, and the courage to
identify one person who knows where you keep your papers.
The AARP Bulletin of November 2020 highlights these
important agenda items: creating a will,
living will and durable power of attorney;
having a conversation with your family or friends about your wishes about
health care should you become incapacitated; getting an understanding of the
estate laws in your state; choosing your agents ( the person (s) who will carry
out your wishes) based on their qualifications not what you think you should do
or what is expected for you to do; seriously considering dividing your estate
equally among your children unless there are strong reasons not to; and
remembering you can always change your documents- you may have to if you move
out of state or your beneficiary or agent becomes incapacitated or dies.
AARP offers these suggestions:
Free services- Cake (JoinCake.com) or FreeWill
(FreeWill.com)
Low-cost services- Gentreo (Gentreo.com), Quicken WillMaker
&Trust by NOLO (NOLO.com), Trust &Will (TrustAndWill.com/AARP)
Pro Bono Legal Advice- law school clinics in your state- search
“elder law clinic in…” and Legal Aid (LSC.gov)
Tell me what you think.
Have you taken action during the pandemic? Did you have THE conversation with your
family?
