There may or may not be a Hallmark card for this, but this is something in which we should all partake.
If you are fortunate enough to have parents in your life (yes—this includes your in-laws if you’re married!), it is important to watch out for them, as they did for you when you were growing up. As your parents age, they may need more help understanding what their doctors are telling them, remembering to take their medication, getting around to buy groceries and visit their doctors and friends, pay their bills and navigate through insurance and other financial paperwork, and just get their affairs in order. This is not always easy to do, especially if your parents live in a different state from you, are stubborn, or if you have children and responsibilities of your own to manage.
An important step in being able to help your parents as they will need you to, is to be sure they have considered and expressed their wishes in legally valid and binding estate planning documents. These documents include Wills, Revocable Living Trusts, and Advance Directives, such as Powers of Attorney for Property and Health Care, Living Wills, and HIPAA Authorizations. It is then your job to respect their wishes as they have indicated in these documents. Without such documents in place, it will be more difficult and costly to help your parents with what they need as they age.
We encourage families to have discussions about what will happen in the event of disability or death of a loved one, including who will make decisions, how bills will be paid, and how assets will be distributed. Issues like, where will mom or dad go if they need extended long-term care, and what are your family’s religious beliefs on extension of life through artificial means, are tough, but need to be addressed.
Discussions about aging may not be easy or pleasant. It may be difficult to find a good time to tackle the subject. But, we strongly encourage you to make it happen, sooner, rather than later. Maybe just put it on the calendar. If you can’t get all family members together in one room, conference them in. We are happy to assist families in having these discussions, so that there is less uncertainty, and fewer hard feelings, later on when things happen.
By the way, August 1st is also National Raspberry Cream Pie Day (you really can’t make this stuff up!), so respect your parents, take good care of them, and treat them to some pie today to say thanks for all that they have done for you!
Should you have any questions about an estate plan, please contact Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, LLC at (847)253-8800 or contact us online.
Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, LLC is a full-service law firm with various areas of service to assist your business, including: Employment Law, Intellectual Property, Commercial Real Estate, Business Immigration, Litigation and general Business Law services. Individual services include Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Probate, Guardianship, Divorce and Family Law, Collaborative Divorce & Mediation.
This article constitutes attorney advertising. The material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.