Haims: Be proactive with estate planning
While I have shared this information before, there are many people, both young and old, who are still unaware of the consequences of not being educated in some life events that come with age.
A few years ago, when my daughter became ill while at college, she asked that I help her figure out some medical bills she had received. As she was still under my family insurance policy, I called the medical billing office to make some inquiries. I was happy to help her out and figured that, as I had done this many times before, it was going to be quicker for me to accomplish than for her. I found out that I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I learned something new that day, a concept called the “age of majority.” It seems that, in addition to things like voting, serving on a jury, and legal contracts, this means that when someone turns 18, there are significant other legal transitions that take place. In my situation, it meant that my wife and I no longer had the legal authority to both make medical decisions or receive medical information about her. I never really gave such a situation any thought. Guess it was time for her to learn and for me to assist her with an education.
Fortunately, I was able to have her sign a HIPAA release, which enabled me to receive the info I needed to help her understand the medical bills, deductible and co-pay. After spending a number of hours on the phone with her, I felt that she was left with a general understanding of how to manage such situations in the future.
My parents never shared this education with me. They didn’t have to, as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was not enacted when I was in college. So, when it came time for me to get my own health insurance policy, there was an overwhelming and steep learning curve. Luckily for me, my parents were around to guide and help me. Having them around to guide me through a process that I had never been educated in was comforting and potentially saved me from making costly learning errors. Had they not been around, things could have been more complicated.

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Unfortunately, colleges and universities have no “general education” class that teaches such life skills as acquiring health insurance, banking, saving, investing, establishing/building credit or estate planning. As an owner of a business that assists seniors, I have learned that there are too often serious consequences to those who have little or no knowledge of the decisions that need to be made as one ages into their senior years.
In general, as soon as you accumulate any assets, even small ones like a savings/checking account or a car, a beneficiary should be assigned. Why, you may wonder? At any age, when a person passes away, their assets become inaccessible (even to a spouse) unless a joint owner or beneficiary exists.
Earlier this summer, a friend’s husband suddenly passed away. The wife, a friend of mine for many years, had to leave her job in order to jump in and take over her husband’s business. While she has shared with me some of the challenges she has faced in attempting to run his business, being a single parent, managing her grief and that of her children, the most formidable challenges have revolved around accessing financial accounts.
It seems that when her husband started the business, he had her added as a “signer” on several business accounts. However, he had never had her name placed as an account owner on business documents such as banking accounts, loans and operational documents. As such, gaining access to such accounts has caused “brain damage” and delayed not only business operations, but her life as well.
Oh, I forgot to mention another challenge she had to overcome — online passwords. Yep, there were banking accounts, business and home loans, and business operation expenses like utilities that were paid online. Without access to passwords, she has found many formidable and time-consuming challenges.
The aforementioned are only a few of the daunting challenges someone may face when the passing of a loved one occurs. Young or old, single or married, or widowed, once personal assets have been acquired, save your surviving loved ones from the possible heartache and trauma of managing your affairs after you pass.
Being reactive can be costly and overwhelming
Estate planning does not only apply to wealthy individuals. If you or your aging loved one owns property or other assets like stocks and bonds, it is important that you educate yourself about the importance of documents such as a will, advance directives, powers of attorney (both financial and health matters), and various types of trusts.
Without proper legal documents, at best, assets may go to probate and tax implications may eat away at your wealth/inheritance. At worst, family and loved ones may not see eye to eye and thus experience the worst in each other.
Judson Haims is the owner of Visiting Angels Home Care in Eagle County. He is an advocate for our elderly and is available to answer questions. Connect with him at jhaims@visitingangels.com.