The Most Important Legal and Financial Actions To
Take Right Now

Once
you have attended to your (and your parents’) immediate needs, it will be time
to consider more long term precautions.
In
this time of stress and chaos, your parents may be resistant to talking about
estate planning. It may feel too pessimistic to plan for the worst in the midst
of a scary situation. However, that’s exactly why it’s the most important time
to do so. Plus, since hopefully you are staying inside, you may actually have
the time to dedicate to getting these tasks taken care of.
Here
are actions you can, and should, take to ensure you and your family are
protected both legally and financially.
Update Your Health Care
Documents
Above
all, you first need to ensure that both you and your parents have advance care
directives. This will be an invaluable reference point for those who are
assisting you, whether they be friends, family, or medical professionals. This
directive should include instructions on your preferred methods of care and the
contact information for each of your doctors.
You
must also clearly state who will be in charge of handling your affairs in the
event of your death or incapacity. Even if you have done this already, I urge
you to take out any existing documents now and review them. Have your
circumstances changed? Do you have additions to make? Encourage your parents to
do the same thing, and to communicate with you about what their directives say.
If
you are unsure whether your Health Care Directive is in ship-shape, call us to
take an expert look at them.
Create a “Personal Resource
Map”—an Inventory of Everything That Matters
You
might think that only the very rich need to worry about making specific plans
for their assets. But not so fast. Do you have investments or a retirement
account? Physical things like jewelry, musical instruments, or furniture? What
about crypto? Or even social media accounts? In the event of your incapacity or
death, your family members won’t know where to look for what you have, or how
to access it, unless you’ve planned for that ahead of time.
Somewhere
between 49 and 80 billion dollars are currently unclaimed, or unable to be
claimed, by family members of people who have passed away. This is money that
individuals may have forgotten they had, or that they made no provisions to
pass on to their family after they died. That’s why it’s extra important that
you create a “personal resource map” to tell your loved ones where everything
is and how they should move forward according to your wishes.
To
help you make your own personal resource map, and to help your parents make
theirs, you can go to http://www.personalresourcemap.com/ or call us direct and we’ll
walk you through it.
Remember
that it’s never an inappropriate time to plan for the future. It’s also always
a good time to ask for legal and financial help. #WereAllInThisTogether and
we’re here to support you, virtually now, as well. We can take care of you, and
your family, fully online. Call us, we’re here.
This article is a service of Attorney Amy
Clemmons Brown, attorney licensed in Arkansas. We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and
empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you
love. That's why we offer a Family
Wealth Planning Session,™ during which you will get more financially organized
than you’ve ever been before, and make all the best choices for the people you
love. You can begin by calling our office, today, to schedule a Family Wealth
Planning Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750
session at no charge. For more information, including contact information, please visit www.m-b.law.
Comments
Post a Comment