| What About Financial and Legal Matters? |
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ARTICLE SUMMARY Bills continue to roll in. Financial matters, legal matters continue to demand your attention. As a care giver, where should you start on this? First things first – you need to care for yourself. If you cannot do that, then no progress will be made on these other matters. What about end of life financial and legal matters?
What medical care does your loved one desire at the end of life? You have a right to receive and refuse medical treatment. The best thing you can do is discuss these issues with your loved one and family as soon as possible. Tackle these issues before they become problems and you may find the time spent together can be freed from worry and anxiety over these lesser matters - so your remaining time together can be more meaningful. What about financial and legal matters? FULL ARTICLE Bills continue to roll in. Financial matters, legal matters continue to demand your attention. Where should you start on this? How can you handle this part, when your emotions are so rocked, that you hardly have time or energy to care for yourself? You are facing the loss of a loved one, how can you possibly handle these end of life business matters? These matters fall far short of what is important in life, but we all need to deal with them. Some advanced planning on your part can prevent serious difficulties down the road. First things first – you need to care for yourself. If you cannot do that, then no progress will be made on these other matters. Once you feel ready to tackle these issues, then here is what you should do. Financial matters that require immediate attention include utility bills, credit cards, mortgage payments, and others. If your dying loved one has been handling financial matters, you will need to talk about these matters sooner than later. Banks frequently freeze, or put a hold on bank accounts and safe deposit boxes of those who die in order to protect the estate. But if the money you are relying on to pay the bills is tied up where you cannot get to it, what then? You need to make a list of assets, and liabilities. Assets are those things that have monetary value to you and others. Liabilities are debts that you or your loved one owes. Other questions including where is the key to the safe deposit box? Where is the check book kept? Where are the insurance polices and other important papers? What expenses will health insurance cover? Who should pay the bills? These are some of the end of life questions that revolve around financial matters. A good attorney – one you can trust, whom you have some relationship with – is a good place to start for the legal end of life issues. Where is the will? If your dying loved one does not have a will, then you should start there. Each state has it’s own laws regarding property passing on in the event of a death, so get legal advice on this. Do you need a power of attorney, to legally sign documents on behalf of your dying loved one? What if you only have a modest income and few assets? This is still important for the reasons above. Sometimes lawyers volunteer their time to help out in extreme hardship cases. Contact your local legal aid society to see how they could help you. What is your loved one’s wishes as far as medical care is concerned? You have a right to receive and refuse medical treatment. The best thing you can do is discuss these issues with your loved one and family as soon as possible. Beware of those who tell you only one side – for example state that you have a right to refuse treatment, but fail to disclose you also have a right to receive medical treatment. Why is only one side of the issue being presented? When the planning is done, often you'll realize that you need to update the will, create a medical will, settle old debts, arrange for care for children or parents, or just help assure that some activity you have loved well will continue. By tackling these issues before they become problems, you may find the time spent with your loved one can be freed from worry and anxiety over these lesser matters - so your remaining time together can be more meaningful. |