Future Planning 6 – Concluding Remarks

I’ve tried to make all the preceding as simple as possible without all the complications that your own particular situation may warrant. If you have a complex situation, then you might need professional advice from someone such as a lawyer who specializes in these areas. But for many people you might be able to do all this yourself with fairly minimal assistance.

My own parents already had wills from many years ago, so I did not have to work with them. But my in-laws had done no planning. I spent an hour or so in informal conversation with them, capturing their desires, then drafted wills, power of attorney, and patient advocate forms for each of them. These proved to be very valuable when they each passed away a few years later.

I have also provided these services free of charge to others in our church or in our family. Some of them may need witnesses to signing, some may need to be notarized. And I am not involved in that part of the process, only in providing the completed forms that they need to sign, etc.

It doesn’t matter what stage of life you are in. Preparing a will is just as necessary when you are in your 20s as in your 60s. And always remember, none of these documents is expected to last unchanged. When you go through any significant life events such as marriage/divorce, birth of children, etc. you should also review your will/POA/etc. to see what changes may be needed. They need to be living documents.

I can’t stress it strongly enough. If you do not make these decisions for yourself, then others will end up making them for you – and perhaps not in ways that you would approve. Don’t be afraid to discuss these topics with your loved ones. In fact, having these discussions is perhaps the ultimate way of showing how much you love them in that you want to relieve them of having to make these decisions on your behalf at a time when they may be least capable of making them!