Whether you want to equate this post to who stole the cookie from the cookie jar or for those up to date on Disney movies, the “we don’t talk about Bruno” of it all – the fact remains, you will age, you will get sick, nobody makes it out of this life alive.

Nobody Makes It Out of This Life Alive

This mean you. So on behalf of your loved ones who will be responsible for your needs when you no longer can be, PLEASE plan ahead.

Things you need to think about

• Finances – Do you have enough to cover your long term car?. Hint: it’s more expensive than you think. AND have you set it up so that the person who is going to manage your finances actually has access to them? (I’m looking at you Bank of America and other financial institutions who for some unknown reason feel the need to not honor POA documentation drafted by a lawyer and instead need you to completely redo it on their forms… Hard to do when someone’s in an acute situation and needs access to their funds. Just saying.)
• Medical Decisions – Have you designated a decision maker? Hate to break it to you, but if you don’t do this, the state will – and it might not be who you want. Check out your next of kin laws as this can get tricky. Picture your most tense Thanksgiving dinner argument and then transport it to a hospital room. Not pleasant.
• Long Term Care – Hi, yes, hello. Unless you have an acute event where you die in a hospital unexpectedly, you WILL need long term care. Have you thought about how you want to receive that? In your home? In a facility? In the correct facility? Care in the home is 1.5 to 2x more expensive than care in a facility. Facility care isn’t easy to navigate either as you might need more help than what they can provide. Friendly reminder that all healthcare in this country isn’t done out of the goodness of their hearts and is motivated by the bottom line. Which means if a facility can convince you to give them your money even if it’s not in your best interest, as long as it meets the regulation criteria, they WILL. So be critical about this. Seek help if you’re not sure. (Also, as a healthcare worker in long term care, this is not an indictment on healthcare/long term care workers, this is an indictment on the system as a whole. You don’t want to open that pandora’s box, it’s quite ugly inside.)

Basically, the greatest gift you can give your family or friend who will be taking care of you is a well thought out and well executed plan. Because without it, the burden is immense.