Illness Happens: Who Will Speak for You if You Can’t Speak for Yourself?

Every family has rituals.  An attorney recently shared that one of the rituals in her family is the signing of legal Powers of Attorney (POA) when her children turn 18.  She admitted that it may seem morbid to some people, but for her family it is a way of celebrating a transition into adulthood. Additionally, it is a reminder that her children are now adults, and no one can speak for them unless they authorize them to do so. 

Executing powers of attorney for financial matters and separately for healthcare are a part of estate planning.  It is common when people think of estate planning to associate that with creating a will or a trust.  Those are key parts of the estate planning process, but estate planning is much broader. It addresses the stewardship of your assets and your person not just at your death, but during your life -- especially if you need assistance or are unable to speak for yourself.  Because estate planning is not just about what happens when you die, making sure that you have appropriate documents in place to manage your affairs during your lifetime is essential for every adult. 

Create a Guide

Once you have powers of attorney in place that allow your selected agent to act on your behalf, you need to consider the practical matter of how your agent would know what tasks they need to attend to (this primarily applies to the DPOA for financial and legal matters).  These same issues apply to your executor, who is responsible for your estate at the time of your death.  Start by listing the various financial accounts and assets that you have, along with account details, contact information, logins and any other details that are required for your agent to act.

Here are key categories you need to include:

• Financial Accounts. This would include bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and retirement accounts.
• Bills and Debts. Include information on routine bills like utilities, property taxes, credit cards, and loans.  It can be helpful to review a years’ worth of bank and credit card statements to identify periodic payments like insurance premiums that are not due every month.
• Key Documents. List important documents like wills and trusts, deeds and titles to property, mortgage documents, and insurance policies.
• Digital Assets. List your email and social media accounts.

KEY POINTS & TIPS

• All this information does not have to be kept in one place. But if information is housed in multiple places, create a single document that maps where everything is, e.g. insurance policies in the safe deposit box, bills in the top drawer of the filing cabinet, etc.
• As information increasingly moves online, make sure that you create a secure document (under lock and key or a password protected digital document) that contains information to access your online accounts.
• To ensure that you provide complete information, you might consider saving a year-end copy of statements for bills and accounts. Statements generally include account numbers, contact information, and other potentially helpful information.  Depending on the information, some account statements you may want to save securely.
• For any information that is secured either physically or digitally, make sure your agent knows how to gain access.

It is never fun to consider that one day you may become unable to handle your affairs personally.  Preparing in advance with all the necessary legal documents and providing clear instructions for others will make a tough job a little more manageable. Being adequately prepared is ultimately a gift to those we love and trust to care for us.