Are your affairs in order?

22 April 2022

I published this article in my newsletter this month and, based on the feedback I received, it struck a chord. It’s an important message, so I thought I’d share it here.

Last fall, my aunt asked me to be her Power of Attorney for finances and health. She was 92 and had been told by her doctor that she had dementia. I was already my father’s Power of Attorney so I agreed to do it. I’m glad I did, though I didn’t actually realize how much work it would be.

This year, it became apparent that she needed to move to memory care and it fell on me as her Power of Attorney to find a place for her to move, convince her to move, arrange her move and get her house on the market. I continue to handle her daily finances. And she lives a couple of thousand miles away in Walla Walla, Washington. Luckily I have the skill set to do this fairly easily and I’m very glad to be of assistance.

But I started to think: What if she hadn’t made those arrangements? If we hadn’t signed papers last fall while she still had her faculties, everything would have been much more difficult today. Since moving in February, she had a stroke and has had to move into a skilled nursing facility.

You just don’t know what the future is going to hold for your health or the health of those you love. If you don’t have a will and a health directive, please get them. If you you haven’t designated a Power of Attorney for finances and/or health care, please do it now. And, finally, if you have an elderly relative who doesn’t have a Power of Attorney, please encourage them to assign one. I promise that at some point you will be glad you did.

Tagged with: estate organizing, family, planning