Expect the Unexpected and Planning is the Cure for the Unexpected

Charlotte Fox mountaineer

Charlotte Fox was one of the most adventurous women I have heard about. She was a serious mountain climber…acclaimed for reaching the summit of many of the world’s tallest mountains. She was the first American woman to climb three peaks above 8,000 meters, including Mount Everest in 1996. That climb will forever live in infamy because her climbing party encountered disaster on their descent and several of them died.  This was all documented powerfully in Jon Krakauer’s bestseller “Into Thin Air.”

We can all agree it is risky to climb the world’s tallest peaks. However, with all its risks, Charlotte didn’t die while mountain climbing. Charlotte died while she was at home alone, like any of us might be on any given day. She slipped on her hardwood stairs, fell and suffered fatal injuries at age 61.

Though there are few certainties in life, one we know for sure is that we will all pass away someday. We just don’t know when or how, we just know we will. Most often  we believe death will come when we’re old and frail. Maybe we expect it when we are over age 90 and contract pneumonia. But even “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry” (famous phrase coined by Robert Burns in “To a Mouse.”).  Sometimes, unfortunately, we don’t die from old age but die due to a simple household accident, like Charlotte Fox. In fact, more than 18,000 people die each year from household accidents in the United States.

Since none of us knows when tragedy might strike, it’s best to have a plan in place, in case the unexpected happens. To get you started thinking about a plan, here are some basic components your plan should include. There are certainly other elements that would allow your plan to be like a “custom suit” for you, but these will get you started…

  • A WillA Will disposes of your property at your death through a court process called “probate.” Without a Will, your assets are divvied up among your relatives as determined by your state legislature. With a Will, you can alter this distribution and provide protections for your loved ones from their creditors, divorce, or even their own mismanagement. In a Will you can also nominate “back up parents” (guardians) for your minor children, which is an absolute must if you are a parent. But a Will is only effective at death and requires court involvement, which may be more or less cumbersome depending on your state, age and circumstances of your heirs or children, and the nature and extent of assets involved.
  • A Property Power of AttorneyA Property Power of Attorney allows you to designate someone to act for you regarding your property during your life. It allows someone to manage assets in your individual name when you are unable to make the decisions yourself.
  • A Healthcare Power of AttorneyThis power designates an agent to make healthcare decisions for you when you are unable to make them for yourself.
  • A Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) AuthorizationThis authorization designates who can access your protected health information. Without such a document, a hospital or other provider might not be able to tell your loved ones any information about your care, or even that you are in their care.
  • A Revocable Living TrustA trust holds title to property during your lifetime, or you can designate it as the transfer on death beneficiary of your assets when you pass away. At your death or incapacity, your successor trustee manages the assets according to your instructions in the trust. Since the trust continues at your death, no probate process is required. Depending upon the state, this may save significant time and money and provide privacy which may be lost with probate. The trust may provide all the protections which a Will could provide, including protection from a beneficiary’s divorce, creditors, and financial immaturity, and other benefits.  Or a trust can simply hold the assets for children who are very young until they are old enough to inherit the assets.

For all of these reasons, I strongly encourage everyone to prepare at least this basic plan. When these are in place, regardless of the dangers that may lurk around the corner, you’ll be prepared. You will have a plan that will combat the unexpected because you (and your loved ones) will know what to expect.