Living Local - Are your “affairs” in order?
Tamara Burton
Many of you have helped move a loved one from their home to an independent or assisted living facility. You understand the importance of making sure their affairs are in order, including real estate, powers of attorney and personal finances.
To get your affairs in order means “legally arranging your financial accounts, property, and your personal and medical information in such a way that family members and trusted people in your life can handle your estate and affairs with as little inconvenience as possible when you pass away or become incapacitated”.
I would argue that just simply aging can mean you also need to get your affairs in order.
My mom is in her 80s and I have recently been presented with a situation requiring A LOT of my assistance with her “affairs”. She is not deceased, nor incapacitated, but as she is aging, simply needs more help. Prior to this situation, I never would have realized the daunting task I would have been faced with should she actually become incapacitated or deceased. No shade to my mom, she thought she did have everything in “order”.
If you don’t organize everything, then your family will have to do it for you after you pass away. The more you do now, the less they have to do later. And of course doing it without also grieving someone’s loss at the same time certainly seems more palatable.
Handling the affairs of a deceased parent or other family member can be overwhelming. Paying the expenses associated with a house is time-consuming. Identifying little things like accounts, passwords and expenses can be a source of frustration. I learned that even with this information, the financial entity (insurance, bank, etc.) still needed verbal confirmation from my mom. Luckily, she could assist. But had she not been able to, the amount of work on my end would have been be ten-fold.
If it takes you a few hours to organize your paperwork and information, it will take a few weeks for your family to get it done. The hours you spend will save them days of frustration, avoid making them take time off from work, and relieve some of the stress and worry that accompanies these hard situations. I strongly recommend hiring an estate planning lawyer. You need estate planning documents if you want to get your affairs in order.
At the very least, have a financial Power of Attorney (POA) designated that can authorize any types of transactions on your or your loved one’s behalf.
When you are ill or incapacitated (either for the short- or long-term) you'll need someone to pay your bills, make investment decisions and handle other financial matters.
Procrastination is the biggest enemy of estate planning.
While none of us likes to think about dying, ultimately, improper or no planning can lead to family disputes, assets getting into the wrong hands, long court litigation, and excess money paid in estate taxes.
So pick a time to get started. To quote Benjamin Franklin, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Tamara Burton l tamara@thealmsgroup.com l 913-484-0808
