Senior Planning: Putting Elder Affairs in Order

Moving into the phase of life of a senior calls for thinking about things that your loved one might have put off before. This includes many of lifeÕs philosophical questions and looking back on life and thinking about what they did well and what they regret.

But aside from those reflective questions, there are some basic things to do now to Òput your loved one's affairs in orderÓ so that in the event they come to that final day of life, you and those charged with such affairs know what to do.

It seems almost a little morbid to to do this senior planning early in retirement life when they are healthy and active and there is no obvious threat to life.

But these are not decisions that should be put off until your loved one's health begins to decline when they are significantly older. These are decisions that call for a mature and thoughtful review by a senior citizen fully in command of his or her faculties. That means that putting their affairs in order is something to do now and not something procrastinate about.

After all, when your loved one started a family, they didnÕt wait until the children were grown to buy life insurance or think about their education. They took care of that when they were still crawling around in diapers because that is what mature adults do. So now it's time to be a mature adult about end of life paperwork so those affairs are in order and ready when they are needed.

The kinds of end of life issues that should be decided, paid for and settled now includeÉ

• The settlement of life insurance and who has the authority to close it out.
  
  
• Is their will up to date and correct? This should be reviewed from time to time if assets change or other details need to be altered.
  
  
• Are medical directives decided and signed? This includes their decision about whether to have life prolonged if on artificial life support after a catastrophic illness or injury. This is called a DNR or ÒDo Not ResuscitateÓ order and what is decided will be the law to medical teams who are caring for your loved one during those final days. DonÕt leave this decision to loved ones to agonize over when they will already be in emotional distress.
  
  
• Are the proper legal documents for the disposition of business assets and how your loved one wishes to see other legal affairs handled properly documented and in good legal order? A final review by elder lawyers will give you peace of mind that these documents will not be susceptible to legal action after your loved one is gone.
  
  
• Are funeral arrangements decided? It is your loved one who should decide where they will be buried, whether cremation is preferred and other details of the ceremony. If there are particular hymns they want to have sung at the funeral, a church or minister you want to see handle the ceremony or other details that are important to them, document those so family can observe these wishes. Many prepay for the burial plot and casket in advance. This is an act of love that can take that burden off of your loved oneÕs mind.

Of all of the end of life decisions to make, the most important one will be making sure all of these documents can be found and that you can find and execute these documents. The last thing you want to have happen is for the children to have to hunt through boxes of old documents to find life insurance papers, will or other important end of life documents.

Create good legible copies that are legally correct and secure them where they are safe and easy to locate. Go through them with your executor or who will be responsible for them so they know exactly how the will and other affairs should be administered. And make sure everybody has copies including all children and everyone who is mentioned in the will. In this way there will be no questions when the time comes and everyone will know what to do.

Back to List of Articles