The Talk That Only Gets Tougher
Holly Donaldson, CFP?, CEPS
Retirement Planning Advice-Only | Hourly | Fee-Only Fiduciary | Financial Navigator
60% of people say not burdening their family with tough decisions is “extremely important,” but 56% have not talked about their end-of-life wishes.* This year, National Health Care Decisions Day, (#NHDD) is on April 16. It’s an initiative started by The Conversation Project to encourage conversations about end-of-life care.
This kind of talk tends to be the kind we put off until “the right time.” If we think it through, that “right time” means waiting until some kind of health issue or diagnosis, when emotions are high, which can be exactly the “wrong time.”
Since many people have their affairs assembled for taxes anyway this month – why not use this day to share with loved ones where to find the documents, where to find the passwords, and our wishes should we find ourselves unable to make our own health decisions?
Not sure how to ask or where to start? Try these resources:
How to Choose a Health Care Proxy
Conversations for Families of Those With Dementia
Once you have the conversation, how do you document those wishes? For information on which legal documents you need to make your wishes clear, stay tuned for next week’s post, or check on Chapter 4 of The Mindful Money Mentality: How To Find Balance In Your Financial Future, or Holly’s article in the March 2017 issue of the Journal of Financial Service Professionals, “Financial Planning at the End of Life: What To Say and How To Say It.”
The longer this talk waits, chances are, the tougher it will get.
*Source: Centers for Disease Control (2005).