In light on Janet's situation....

is anyone prepared for that? I feel like I am in la la land and if something terrible happened I would not know what to do

besides Life Insurance- which I am calling about tomorrow- what else can we do?

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

DH and I talk about this alot, but never do anything.

I think it's VERY important no matter how old we are to have the following:

Will
Living Will (as we hopefully learned from the Shrivo case)
updated Life Insurance

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

this is a wake up call for us- we talk about it too- but never act on it

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

We both have Life insurance
Only I have a will, Health Care Proxy, & Power of Attorney (all of which I had before I met DH & they MUST be updated) . My DH needs to get all of these.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

I have life insurance, my DH doesn't. And I can't even think about this right now. Janet's post breaks my heart. I pray that they'll be blessed. Keith is in my prayers. This has to be oone of the saddest things I have ever read.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

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Posted by Beth1210

this is a wake up call for us- we talk about it too- but never act on it

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you're right! this is definitely a wake up call. time to set up an appt to draw up wills

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

this is so sad - i cannot even fathom what she is feeling right now.

we talk and know each others wishes, but nothing is in writing. this is an important wake up call.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

I work in Life Insurance & Annuities .....EVERYTHING MUST MUST MUST be in writing - CLEARLY - i(s) dotted, t(s) crossed.
I am constantly on DH about this because I would NEVER want anyone I cared about (nor myself) to be in a position of additional stress and confusion at a time like that ......

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

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Posted by Beth1210

this is a wake up call for us- we talk about it too- but never act on it

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This is so true. This really makes me think really long and hard.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

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Posted by dleeny

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Posted by Beth1210

this is a wake up call for us- we talk about it too- but never act on it

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you're right! this is definitely a wake up call. time to set up an appt to draw up wills

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YEs, it is on our list of to dos but we haven't gotten to it...really wakes you up...they are in my thoughts and prayers!

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

DH and I had LONG talk about this last night. He's calling to make an appointment for us today.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

I did our wills and health care proxies on Willmaker Pro. Did it myself and it's really not difficult. They have to be witnessed and notarized.

If it makes you comfortable go to a lawyer, but this is easy and can be done quickly.

ETA: disability insurance is much more valuable in cases like this than life insurance. I hope it doesn't come to this, but if you are disabled and can't work, you need to have income. SS disability will not pay what a good disability insurance policy will cover.

Sandly, it sounds like there may also be a need for home health care insurance.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

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Posted by Blu-ize

I did our wills and health care proxies on Willmaker Pro. Did it myself and it's really not difficult. They have to be witnessed and notarized.

If it makes you comfortable go to a lawyer, but this is easy and can be done quickly.

ETA: disability insurance is much more valuable in cases like this than life insurance. I hope it doesn't come to this, but if you are disabled and can't work, you need to have income. SS disability will not pay what a good disability insurance policy will cover.

Sandly, it sounds like there may also be a need for home health care insurance.

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All excellent points. I will add that I think going to an attorney for a durable power of attorney is important because there is very specific language that needs to be in the document for the POA to be able to do certain financial transactions. Also, an attorney that specializes in estate planning will be able to advise you much more specifically on planning...in terms of trusts, wills, etc.

Long Term Care insurance is also something that should be investigated. Over 40% of people needing long term care are in pre-retirement years.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

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Posted by shamrock12472

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Posted by Blu-ize

I did our wills and health care proxies on Willmaker Pro. Did it myself and it's really not difficult. They have to be witnessed and notarized.

If it makes you comfortable go to a lawyer, but this is easy and can be done quickly.

ETA: disability insurance is much more valuable in cases like this than life insurance. I hope it doesn't come to this, but if you are disabled and can't work, you need to have income. SS disability will not pay what a good disability insurance policy will cover.

Sandly, it sounds like there may also be a need for home health care insurance.

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All excellent points. I will add that I think going to an attorney for a durable power of attorney is important because there is very specific language that needs to be in the document for the POA to be able to do certain financial transactions. Also, an attorney that specializes in estate planning will be able to advise you much more specifically on planning...in terms of trusts, wills, etc.

Long Term Care insurance is also something that should be investigated. Over 40% of people needing long term care are in pre-retirement years.

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Yes, LTC insurance is what I meant.

Also the Willmaker program is complete. Check it out.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

DH and I are definitely not prepared. I cannot imagine what Janet must be going through.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

My bestfriend became a widow at 34. She was left with 2 children, 6 months and 3 years and 2 teenaged step children. Her husband had no life insurance, no mortgage insurance, nothing. That was my wake up call!

Life can change so quickly! My heart breaks for Janet.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

You make SUCH a great point. We should all have these things. You never think that something bad will happen.... B ut I would want to make sure my husband was taken care of and had the right to make decisions for me and vice versa for him....this is a wonderful thread to increase all of our awareness. Thanks for posting.... More prayers to Janet and Keith....

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

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Posted by Beth1210

is anyone prepared for that? I feel like I am in la la land and if something terrible happened I would not know what to do

besides Life Insurance- which I am calling about tomorrow- what else can we do?

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I lived through this at age 27 when my Dad had a massive stroke. He has 'recovered' but is partially paralyzed, can't speak more than a word here or there and can't live on his own. No cooking, bathing or chores. I know more about it than I would wish on anyone. the younger you have a stroke the worse it is. I was my father's fulltime caretaker for 7 years... NO HELP, no cleaning lady, home contractors, nothing. I am his power of attorney, his chauffer, shopper, cook, etc.

That said, we are very prepared. Paperwork was drawn up BEFORE we were even married and signed the day I got back from the honeymoon (with my new legal name).

We have a will, health care proxy, living will, power of attorney and life insurance.

No one wants to talk about it but I never thought my singl-parent father, with absolutely no risk factors at all, would have a stroke.

Re: In light on Janet's situation....

We have life insurance and we do have our cemetary plots... I know it sounds crazy but my parents bought theirs a long time ago and I wanted to be buried with the rest of my family. So we contacted Pinelawn and bought our plots near my parents. We do not have anything else though.