Last week we gave you a secret test you could give a named helper (or potential helper) to see if they might be up to the task. But what sorts of things might you need help with? There are generally two categories…
Help With Finances
A recent National Institutes of Health study showed a decrease in decision-making skills between the ages of 56-85. We also know, statistically, that if you reach the age of 65 you will, on average, live 19.2 more years. Therefore, many of us will need help with complicated financial decisions that occur in the last few decades of life.
A Power of Attorney for finances will allow someone to help you pay bills, manage your investments and make financial decisions. This may sound very scary, but we help our clients make good choices about financial POAs on a daily basis. That’s why you see the word “Counselor” in our name.
Help With Healthcare Decisions
As you age, you may want input from others about your healthcare. We all know how complicated the medical care world is to navigate these days.
A Power of Attorney for healthcare will allow someone to help you make decisions about a variety of medical issues:
• Medical treatments – like chemo and radiation if you’re diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, doctors and nurses can’t always be relied upon to recommend the best course of action. It can be extremely helpful to have someone else listening to the options, the pros and cons, and then helping you make sense of the process.
• Surgery – whether it’s really needed or not.
• End of life decisions – do you want to be hooked up to machines? Do you want to spend your last days at home if at all possible?
• Where to live – should I downsize, stay put (age in place) or is there another alternative?
• How to get the best care – marketers are very savvy and they know that seniors are an easy target. It would be very helpful to have someone who can help you weed through all the “flash” of advertisements and get down to the real useful information so you can make informed choices.
• When to sign a “Do Not Resuscitate” order.
Learn more about what exactly helpers do in our post, “12 Duties of a Helper.”
How Edwards Group Can Help
We help families choose good helpers everyday. This is a difficult decision and one of the most important you’ll ever make. You don’t have to do it alone. We can guide you through the process of deciding who is best. While you’ll only do this once in your lifetime (maybe twice), we’ve helped hundreds of families since 2008. In that time, our firm has been solely dedicated to estate planning and elder law. We’ve seen A LOT and gained a lot of wisdom from the families we help on a daily basis. We can help you know what to do and what NOT to do.
Give us a call at 217-726-9200 and plan to attend an upcoming workshop today. Attending a workshop makes the planning process easier and more effective all around!
The greatest threat to an effective estate plan is not taking any action at all, so take your first step today and call us at 217-726-9200 to schedule an Initial Meeting or come to a workshop.