Yes, taxes are over (except for all those who filed extensions), but there are still really important issues to consider and decisions to make for National Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16th in order to create a thorough Advance Health Care Directive.
Although you may have forgotten your New Year’s resolutions by now, let this day serve as a reminder to revisit taking care of you and your family. This is an introspective journey to contemplate difficult issues, discuss them with your loved ones and make sure they are legally documented.
Let’s acknowledge the proverbial white elephant in the room: facing your incapacity and mortality is uncomfortable and much easier to ignore, but planning for it, is extremely important.
Exploring your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wishes through a comprehensive estate plan helps create a safety net to rely on during more difficult times.
Here are some scary but realistic statistics:
- 50-75% of us will become mentally incapacitated before we die.
- Less than 50% of us once critically ill, have an Advance Health Care Directive.
Below are 3 steps for how to begin this process:
1. Decisions: Determine Your Wishes™ in case you become incapacitated.
- Go Wish Card Game: www.gowish.org
- Five Wishes Workbook: www.fivewishes.com
2. Conversations: Once you have explored these concepts to determine what is most important to you, share Your Wishes™ with those who will be caring for you in the event you become incapacitated. Talk about hypotheticals: what happens if you get into an accident, have a heart attack or stroke, get a terminal illness or dementia? It sounds hard, but trust us, when it’s all said and done, you’ll feel great!
- Conversation Project is starter kit to assist in your discussions.www.theconversationproject.org
3. Documents: Just because your loved ones understand your wishes that doesn’t make them able to honor and enforce them without legal documents being drafted. That’s where we come in.Contact Goldfarb & Luu to give you the guidance and expertise that will provide your ultimate peace of mind.