Very often I will have clients or prospective clients ask me “should I be making these plans?” They wonder if they are too young to be thinking about health care decisions or who would be able to sign a check to pay their mortgage or rent or credit card bills if they were in an accident.
But if you read the paper, or watch the news or live in the world you know that bad things don’t just happen to “old people.” Accidents and illnesses can happen at any age.
And that is why I, too, have signed my health care proxy, written down my wishes for end of life care, signed a durable power of attorney so someone can handle my finances if I can’t and filled out a What If Workbook with the vital information my family would need if I was unable to manage things. It’s also why I review these documents before I travel, remind people of where to find them and update them as needed.
The following are some of the other reasons I have heard from people who are wondering whether they need to put their plan in place:
- I’m too young,
- I’m not old enough (this only applies if you are under 18),
- I’m single,
- I’m married,
- I don’t have any children,
- I don’t own real estate,
- I don’t own anything,
- I can’t decide who to appoint,
- My kids will take care of things,
- My parents will take care of things,
- My spouse will take care of things.
As you may guess, none of them are good reasons.
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