One of the common things to do when it comes to estate planning is to only focus on what happens when you die and ignore planning for the possibility of a medical emergency where you may not die but are temporarily or permanently incapacitated. Think accident, head injury, stroke, sudden cardiac arrest, early onset of dementia or mental illness, and the list can go on. If you have not planned for these situations, you and your loved ones are in a very vulnerable position.
Too often we see people operate on the misbelief that spouses or relative will automatically be recognized as having legal authority to act or that somehow their wishes will just be known and honored. Other times, they have boilerplate legal documents that don’t match their wishes or are ill-equipped to handle the situation at hand.
The result? Confusion, emotional stress, possible family conflict and having to go through a burdensome and expensive court process to have a judge appoint a conservator for you….Ultimately, a mess.
But the good news is you can avoid all of this by engaging in good emergency planning. Learn more about how in this video.
Or give us a call so we can help you take the steps towards creating an emergency plan that works.
