A stroke, a car accident, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or another serious illness or injury could make it difficult or impossible to make decisions about your health and finances at any age. The odds increase as you age, however: mild cognitive impairment affects roughly 17 percent of adults 65 and older, and people with these symptoms are more likely to develop Alzheimer's or dementia.1

Planning for these possibilities now, no matter how healthy you are, may allow you to retain some control over what would happen to you in such a situation and alleviate the burden of requiring family members to make life-altering decisions for you without knowing your wishes.

Without custodial and end-of-life planning documents that legally provide for your financial and medical wishes to be carried out, courts may have to decide who will become your legal guardian to make such decisions, especially in cases where your relatives disagree on your treatment or there is no next of kin. A lack of formal estate planning could delay your care.

Furthermore, all the hard work you have done for years to prepare financially for your later decades could be undone if you lose control over your finances and have not appointed someone trustworthy to manage them. Planning ahead will help to preserve your family's financial security, which is especially important if a spouse, children, or other loved ones rely on your income and savings.

If you are caring for a loved one who has recently been diagnosed with a serious illness, it is likely even more important to take immediate action. These documents should be drawn up and signed while the principal still has decision-making capacity. Everyone declines at a different rate, and even early stages of Alzheimer's and dementia can make individuals combative and create difficulties with concentration and language.

There are several documents everyone should put in place while they are still of sound mind and body so their wishes will be carried out if they become physically or mentally unable to make their own decisions. You will need witnesses to your signature and the documents may need to be notarized as well; requirements vary by state and by document.

Consider preparing these financial documents:

-- Power of Attorney

-- Will

-- Living Trust

-- Living Will or Advance Directive

-- Health Care Proxy

-- Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order



Professional help

A financial professional can help advise on a plan for handling your assets and estate. An estate planning or elder law attorney can help draw up initial documents in accordance with state laws and can help to revise documents in the event that the principal gets divorced or moves to another state or a previously appointed agent becomes unable or unwilling to serve. The American Bar Association's website offers guidance on how to find and select an attorney.

It is imperative to put these documents in place while you are still of sound mind and legally able to sign them, and it is best to do it while you are completely healthy rather than waiting until being diagnosed with a physical or mental issue and hoping you can still think clearly at that point.

In addition to these key documents, you may want to make sure you have enough life insurance to provide for any dependents and possibly to cover your final expenses. If you are still working, disability income insurance can help protect your ability to pay your bills and provide for your family if you become unable to work for several months or longer.



CHRISTINE BURKE IS A FINANCIAL REPRESENTATIVE WITH COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL GROUP, COURTESY OF MASSACHUSETTS MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (MASSMUTUAL). 2023 MASSACHUSETTS MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, SPRINGFIELD, MA 01111-0001 MM202605-305573. CA INSURANCE LICENSE # 0M80473.



1. Alzheimer's Association, "2023 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures," 2023.