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The following crossed my desk
recently. The author gave
me permission to share her story:
"Please alert people to something we're experiencing right
now - having to clean up the mess of someone not naming more
than one person as beneficiary on a life insurance policy.
We are having an impossible time trying to get the
funeral expenses paid for my sister and my mother.
They died within four days of each other, and they left
each other as beneficiary of their life insurance policies.
'If the person listed as a beneficiary dies, the insurance
benefit goes into their estate.
'The problem is, neither of them had a will, either."
(Aside: This means that both estates,
the mother's and the daughter's, will have to be probated by the
Court, and the Court will decide who gets what.
The process can be lengthy, and it can be expensive. The
family might not see the funeral money for quite a while.)
"Also, please alert people to be sure that the person they
choose to be their medical decision maker - the person who has
Medical Power of Attorney - is willing to do what they would
want done. Review the
mental capacity of the appointed person regularly.
'My 85 year old Mother couldn't bring herself to honor my
sister's
Living Will that said she wanted to be allowed to go.
The doctor wouldn't write a letter stating Mother wasn't capable
of making these decisions for my sister, who was in a coma.
'So, my sister was put on life support, even though there was no
hope that she would ever awaken or live a productive life. She
lingered for months on a ventilator.
'My family and I wish we had thought about all these things
sooner. We are taking a
closer look at our own papers now."
She is soooo right.
Life insurance is something we all tend to forget about.
When you started that new job, you made out your
employer's insurance beneficiary papers on the first day. Have
you thought about them since?
What about your Medical and
Financial Powers of Attorney (you do
have them, don't you?). If
you've designated your spouse on one or both, what happens if
you're in an accident together? Is
there a secondary person named who can step in?
If you made arrangements for your children when they were
babies, are there things you should change now that they're
older? Now that several
years have gone by, would you still appoint the same people to
care for your children in the event of a catastrophe?
Do you have a will? If
not, some stranger in a black robe is going to be making
decisions for you one day.
What about your parents? If
one of them has passed away, has the survivor made the necessary
changes to legal documents?
If one parent is in poor health or getting confused, is he or
she still the only one legally appointed to make decisions for
the other?
This doesn't really have anything to do with your age.
Everyone over the age of 18 should give some thought to
these questions, and then take action.
Should you do something about it right now, before
something goes tragically wrong?
You
Betcha!
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