Elder law’s 12 days of Christmas
In the spirit of the holiday season, we thought that we would depart from our “normal” column and provide some Christmas cheer:
On the first day of Christmas, mytrue love gave to me: A dopeslap upside my head as we havedone no planning for us as weage.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: An advance directive — “living will” — and health care power of attorney, including an agreement as to who would speak for each of us if we were unable to do so.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: A power of attorney for financial affairs so that someone could act for us financially if we couldn’t.
On the fourth day of Christmas, mytrue love gave to me: An opportunityto discuss whether we shouldhave a will or trust, and whichwould best suit our needs andfamily situation.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: An appointment with a financial planner to force me to create a budget as we never used one and never really knew where our money was going.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: An appointment with an accountant to review and assist us in tax planning, especially in light of the new tax laws.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: way to fund our potential longterm care needs, including a review of long-term care insurance policies.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: A tour of local long-term care facilities, including personal care and skilled nursing facilities along with local continuing care retirement communities, so that we were familiar with them in the event we were to need them.
On the ninth day of Christmas, mytrue love gave to me: A reviewof IRS section 529 college savingsplans to help pay for our kids/grandkidscollege education.
On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: An emergency information card that I can carry with me containing my relevant medical information and emergency contacts.
On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: A compendium of all of my computer passwords, bank and financial account numbers and insurance policies — auto, homeowners, life and health.
On the 12th day of Christmas, mytrue love gave to me: A review of all of the beneficiaries of ourretirement plans, life insuranceand annuity policies to help ensurethat monies would go whereand to whom we want them to go.
On the 13th day of Christmas (Yes, it’s a baker’s dozen Christmas), my true love gave to me: A family conference so that all of the above can be incorporated into a plan for me, us and our family and that there would be few surprises.
Happy Holidays!