Legal Preparedness: Is Your Estate Plan Ready for an Emergency?

September is National Preparedness Month, a good time to think about legal preparedness and whether you and your family are ready for the unexpected.

When you think about being prepared, you may picture flashlights, batteries, bottled water, and an emergency kit. You might know where you'll go during severe weather or what you'll grab if you need to leave home quickly.

But there's another kind of preparedness that's just as important, one that’s much easier to overlook. I call it legal preparedness.

Are you legally prepared if something happens to you?

If You Couldn't Handle Things Tomorrow, Who Would?

Imagine you're injured in an accident or become seriously ill and can't manage your affairs for a period of time.

Who would pay your bills? Who could access your accounts or deal with your insurance company? Who would talk with your doctors and make healthcare decisions if you couldn't make them yourself?

And perhaps most importantly, would that person know what your wishes are?

You may also need to answer these questions for an aging parent. A fall, stroke, hospitalization, or sudden change in cognitive ability can quickly put you in the position of having to make decisions on someone else's behalf.

You may know what your parent would want. You may be the person everyone expects to take charge. But that doesn't necessarily mean you'll have the legal authority to do what needs to be done.

Planning ahead can make an enormous difference.

Your Estate Plan Is Part of Your Emergency Plan

You may think of estate planning primarily as deciding what happens to your property after you die. That's certainly part of it. But some of the most important estate planning documents are there to protect you during your lifetime.

A Durable Financial Power of Attorney allows you to choose someone you trust to handle financial matters if you need help. Depending on your circumstances and how your document is written, your agent may be able to pay bills, manage accounts, work with insurance companies, and handle other important financial responsibilities.

A Georgia Advance Directive for Healthcare has two parts. This document incorporates (1) A Healthcare Power of Attorney, which lets you choose who can make healthcare decisions for you if you can't make them yourself, and (2) A Living Will, which gives your family and healthcare providers guidance about the medical care you would or would not want in certain circumstances.

Your Will or Trust addresses another part of preparedness by providing instructions for what should happen to your property and identifying the people responsible for carrying out your wishes.

Together, these documents give the people you trust something they'll desperately need if a crisis occurs: a roadmap.

Without the right documents, your family may discover that being your spouse, adult child, or closest relative doesn't automatically give them the authority they thought they had. Fixing that problem after you've lost the ability to make or communicate decisions can be far more complicated.

Make Sure Someone Can Find Your Plan

Creating your documents is only part of being prepared.

The right people also need to know that those documents exist and how to find them.

Think about what would happen if you were unexpectedly hospitalized tonight. Does the person you've named as your agent know you've chosen them? Could they find your Power of Attorney? Would they know where you keep your insurance information, medication list, and other important records?

You don't have to hand copies of every financial and legal document to your entire family. But the people who may need to step in should know enough to act when the time comes.

Your plan also needs an occasional checkup. If you created your estate plan 10 or 15 years ago, it may no longer fit your life. Relationships change. People move. Children grow up. Your finances change. Someone you once trusted to make decisions may no longer be the best person for the job.

Put Legal Preparedness on Your September Checklist

This National Preparedness Month, ask yourself one simple question:

If something happened to me tomorrow, would the people I love know what to do?

If you're not sure, now is a good time to review your plan.

Check your Power of Attorney. Check your Georgia Advance Directive for Healthcare. Make sure you've chosen the right people to make decisions for you. Confirm that your Will or Trust still reflects your wishes. And make sure someone you trust knows where your important information can be found.

If you don't have these documents yet, don't wait for an emergency to make them a priority.

At Kimbrough Law, we can help you prepare for the legal, financial, and care-related challenges that can come with aging, illness, and life's unexpected changes. Whether you're creating your first estate plan or wondering if your existing plan still works, we'll help you determine what you need to be prepared.

Look at it this way: Legal preparedness isn't only about knowing what you'll do in an emergency, it's making sure the people you trust can step in when you need them most. Call Kimbrough Law at 706.850.6910 to make sure you’re ready for whatever life dishes out.