Last year and this year a very hard lesson was hammered home to me. Bad things can happen out of the blue no matter how old or young you are and if you are not prepared you are in for a world of hurt.
October last year when Cam lay in the Stroke ward I was asked if I had enduring power of attorney for him. I didn’t. At 49 years of age we both thought that we would get around to it when we retired. We hadn’t planned for a stroke at 49. All of a sudden I was faced with the realisation that because neither Cam nor I had gotten around to doing the paperwork we were now in a situation where I could not act on his behalf financially or have any say in what happened to him in hospital.
This year someone very close to me ended up in hospital and his wife was told that without enduring power of attorney she could not take him home. The lawyers told her she would be looking at around $5000 to do the paperwork required to get him out. Luckily after a couple of days the papers were found as both husband and wife had arranged for enduring power of attorney many years earlier.
It has taken two people that I love ending up in hospital incapacitated for me to finally take action. Today is the day that we will be signing the papers to ensure that if one of us becomes temporarily or permanently incapacitated we can act on each others behalf.
The thought of Cam having another stroke and the hospital having the power to stop me from bringing him home doesn’t bear thinking about. If something happens to me I want Cam not the hospital making the decisions on my behalf.
Think of it as a Christmas present for your future self. When a loved one becomes incapacitated the last thing you need is the additional stress of being unable to take over the bank accounts or have any say in your loved ones care. If it is you that becomes incapacitated you want to be sure that someone you trust has the power to act on your behalf.
Book an appointment and get the process started today and save yourself a world of hurt in the future. Don’t be like me and wait until two people you love have been hit by a bolt from the blue.
