In case you are new here, welcome to my blog! I have been writing about estate planning once a month in a series of posts (see the “related links” section below to see the previous posts in this series). The broad topic of estate planning can feel overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. While I hope that breaking it down some each month in our blog is helpful, know that we have created an even more tangible resource: our organizer.
Our organizer is a guide in the form of fillable PDFs that we organized and put onto a USB drive that we named, “Getting It Together…Estate Organizer.” This digital booklet helps our clients to examine various areas of their life and fill in the information in order to make it easily attainable when the time comes for a spouse or other loved one to use it.
One chapter from our organizer is titled, “My Health” and, depending upon your situation, could be the chapter that needs to be updated the most often over the years. Our health records, the medicine we take, and the doctors we see are ever changing. It is recommended that you take stock of these things and keep the information together and in a safe place. It used to be commonplace to have an address book to record this information but it is dying away in this increasingly digital world.
Regardless, it is still advised to record the necessary information in regards to your health. The average, healthy person typically has a primary care physician, an eye doctor and a dentist at the very least. But what about pharmacies, the nearest hospital, specialty doctors, or physical therapists? More important than keeping them all straight in your mind is how a loved one would know these important doctors should they ever become your caregiver.
Consider the example of being prescribed a new medication. This sample page from our organizer shows there is much to consider when keeping track of prescriptions and supplements.
If you or a loved one begins the process of gathering critical, health related information for the purpose of estate planning or otherwise, take into account these additional topics:
- HIPAA advance health care directive
- Medical POA
- Organ Donor information
- Blood Type
- Allergies
- Health Insurance information
- Medicare or Medicare Supplement information
- Health Saving Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
As a financial advisor, I am privileged to be included on transitions that occur in my client’s lives. It is my hope that by discussing the various facets of life that make up one’s estate, you can better prepare yours.
Until next time, cheers!
Jim