Protecting my family has been on my mind like crazy over the past few months. My Aunt was recently submitted to the Hospital for a Brain Tumor and my extended family has really struggled with what’s happened to her, but also struggled due to some of her lack of planning.
So I don’t know about you, but when I hear these things from my family, I start to ask questions. What do you mean she has a Living Will? What do you mean no one can make decisions for her? Did she have any Life Insurance coverage?
When I hear these questions about her, I HAVE to ask similar questions to myself.
Is my family protected if something serious were to happen to me or, worse, if I were to die.
Are you ready?
My answer was a resounding NO! I was not ready!
I don’t know about you, but the fact that I’m not ready scares me A LOT!
Someone recently told me this: “You don’t want to find yourself near death and be worring about whether your family is protected or not.”
I can’t agree more! The best time to worry and take action is NOW!
I also heard this, “You can’t buy insurance for a house that’s burning down”. The same applies to you. You can’t be applying for some of these things after or during the fact. You can, but it will be exponentially harder!
So here are 5 HUGE Ways to Protect Your Family this Year.
1) Purchase Life Insurance
A Term Life Insurance Policy is a great way to make sure you leave money behind to cover your assets, funeral costs, medical costs, etc. My wife and I both have one and, last year, we purchsed a smaller policy for our 3 year old. Life Insurance isn’t hard to attain if your young and healthy. It can be a little more difficult if you are older or have a rough medical history, but you should still see what your options are either way. Guys, don’t wait till later in life. See your local insurance carrier to discuss more details and be sure to shop around some for the best price.
2) Power of Attorney
So this one took me a little while to understand, but imagine you are laying in the hospital hooked up to a bunch of machines and you can’t walk, talk or function. If you are in that position, you are unable to make your own decisions and sign any paperwork related to your estate or legal matters. Power of Attorney means that you have pre-approved someone else to make decisions for you or sign papers that only you could previously sign. If you research this topic or speak to your local Attorney about this, there are papers that you should have signed now to make sure someone is approved to make these decisions for you later if needed. If you wait, it will be exponentially harder to go through the process!
3) Living Will
To save or not to save, that is the question. A Living Will is powerful because it describes how far you want the medical professionals and your family to go at the end of your life. Don’t let these decisions be left up to your family, make the decisions now and get it down in writing! Again, see your local Attorney for more information and exact details.
4) Last Will
I’m only in my early thirties, why do I need a Will? Well, I drive to work in my car everyday, I work around heavy equipment and machinery and there are a whole lot of crazy people out there. Guys, don’t wait on this one! A Will can clarify who takes guardian ship of your children, who takes control of the assets, what you want to happen with your money and so on. There are so many things to work out in a Will. Be smart and start looking into getting a Will as soon as possible!
5) An Organized Family Plan
As you start to put all of these pieces together, try to put it all in one place. Maybe a safe in your house or a safety deposit box (make sure someone else has a key ;). I personally started my “5 Year Safety Plan” folder last year. Anything you need to know about all of my insurances, my finances, Wills and so on are in this binder. When I leave this earth, my wife or substitute Agent (if my wife and I were to head to Heaven at the same time) will know everything they need to know about my assets.
You can also learn a lot from Dave Ramsey and his Estate Planning Options & Recommendations.
Guys, hear me when I say, I am NOT an attorney or insurance agent. I am a slight research freak that wants to make sure my family is safe and protected!
Please add your thoughts about this topic? Correct me if I have mispoken as well.
Agree with me and let’s be men of action this year!
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