Decision making gets harder as we age. Here are 3 crucial decisions you need to address before you turn 70.
Researchers say that decision making gets harder as we age, even if we don’t have dementia. What does this mean for you? There are many important decisions regarding your health, well-being, family and finances that can be made sooner rather than later. Many people put planning off because it’s unpleasant to think about. I can assure you, it’s much more unpleasant to be the family members on the other end of a stroke, long illness or death where the person did not plan ahead.
Here are the three things you need to take care of by the time you turn 70:
1. Incapacity planning.
What would happen if you had a stroke and were unable to make decisions for yourself any longer? You may think that your family would just decide for you, but it’s not that simple. With proper planning, extra suffering and fighting amongst your family can be avoided.
2. Estate planning.
What can we say about this that we haven’t already? Wills and trusts are basic estate planning tools that a majority of people NEED to have. Proper drafting of these documents saves time, money and heartache.
3. Long-term care planning.
Most nursing homes in Central Illinois will cost at least $78,000 per year. It’s important to take action ahead of time to plan and protect yourself from having to go broke in order to pay for nursing home care.
I know it can seem impractical to plan for things that may never happen, but statistics tell us that everyone who ages should be prepared for cognitive impairment of some kind. Statistics also tell us that 70% of Americans over 70 will need some sort of long-term care. The longer you wait, the less prepared you will be to face the reality of aging in America – and that will cost you time and money. It will also cost your family a lot of heartache.
If you’d like to read more on this topic, check out this article from MarketWatch, “The biggest retirement risk no one talks about” or the National Institutes of Health study entitled, “The ability to decide advantageously declines prematurely in some normal older persons”. This study showed decision-making impairment in aging adults with otherwise normal cognitive functioning. According to NIH researchers, “Our finding has important societal and public policy implications (e.g. choosing medical care, allocating personal wealth), and may also help explain why many older individuals are targeted by and susceptible to fraudulent advertising.”
As always, if you have any questions or just need help knowing where to start, we are more than happy to talk with you via phone at 217-726-9200.