My girlfriend’s mother just passed unexpectedly this week. She hasn’t updated her will since the mid 80s, she had no medical directive, and seemingly did not have her life insurance long enough that they would cover anything, they are just refunding what she has paid to the present.
This has us both thinking about getting ourselves set up properly just in case. We haven’t paid it much mind until now as we don’t have all that much, and no kids, but now that we are seeing the difficulty not having those things brings when people least need added stress, we want to start pursuing it.
What have you done to prepare your family for these types of events and how did you determine what sort of insurance and plans you needed for your situation. Also have you ever either had to deal with a relative leaving no plans behind, or did someone do something that made the situation much easier?
To be quite honest, I’ve not made a single bit of effort in making a will, nor have I decided on life insurance nor have I made any arrangements to heirs or anything else. My family is beyond trusting, to me, so that is entirely out the window regarding them. And another thing is that my ‘retirement’ plan is a plan of permanence at my own discretion, so the thought of making a will or having life insurance is on the bottom of a priority list.
My main concerns when I decide my time is up, is where I’m going to be and how much I want to leave behind and for whom. That’s pretty much it.
There are no friends or a cause you believe in to leave things to?
Power of attorney is one of my big trouble areas. I don’t know if I’d want to thrust that responsibility on anyone, and with a meh family and just a handful of good friends, I didn’t have many options.