Cancer??? The Mother of all Wake-Up Calls
A couple months ago on a trip to St. Louis I got the wake-up call of all wake-up calls. I had recently visited my doctor about a shoulder injury I suffered while exercising. He told me a little rest and no heavy lifting would cure all my problems, but then about a week later I got an unexpected follow up call. The radiologist had found a growth on my humorous (long arm bone), which could potentially be a malignant tumor.
Let me tell you, there aren’t a lot of things on the 4 hour drive to St. Louis that will take your mind off the thought of having cancer. But a whole lot of related thoughts race through your mind – am I going to have to have chemo? What about my house? Who gets my dog? Am I going to die? It might be a little melodramatic, but all of these thoughts crossed my mind.
Fortunately, after further bone density scans and visits, the tests came back negative. The doctors concluded the growth was a cyst that could have contributed to my recent shoulder pain, but nothing that would require additional tests or surgery.
The time I spent in my car made me realize how unprepared I was. You hear a lot about bucket lists, but what about the not so fun stuff? No one likes to plan for their death, but I have come to realize that it is very important to do.
Here are some of the steps that I took to make sure everything was taken care of… If you haven’t made any plans, I’d recommend looking into, no matter how young or healthy you are.
- Create a will
- There are a number of websites that can help create a will for you based off your needs. Legalzoom.com, Lawdepot.com, and USlegalforms.com are a few I looked into.
- If you would rather work with someone face to face, or you have a complicated estate which requires you to determine what you will do with your children, investments such as IRAs, retirement savings plans, insurance policies, and real estate or business interests, you might consider working with a local attorney.
- Note – less than 50% of states will accept a hand-written will so be sure if you decide to do it yourself to follow your State’s rules closely.
- Be sure to review your beneficiaries on your 401(k) and other outside accounts.
- Here is a link to a blog article discussing beneficiaries and what you need to know.
- Understand the terms of your life insurance policy.
- Go over the information with your spouse or family members.
- Create a file or central location that has your will and other important documentation. Consider opening a safety deposit box to keep the documents.
Since I am single and don’t have children, I didn’t have to worry about other factors that you might. In addition to the steps I took, you might consider:
- Working with a professional such as an Estate Planner to come up with a plan. They can help:
- Create an estate plan, which will include a will, assignment of power of attorney and a living will in the event that you cannot make your wishes known.
- Help minimize taxes during the transition of your estate.
- Reduce the time it takes for the transfer of possessions to family and loved ones.
- Set forth funeral arrangements.
- If you have children, decide who will be their guardian in the event that you (and your spouse) should pass.
- Decide on death services. Do you want to be cremated or have a traditional funeral? Where do you want to be buried?
- Consider using gifting to reduce your taxable estate and the amount in taxes your family might have to pay later on.
I had my wake-up call and hope you can learn from my experience. It helped motivate me to prepare my “bucket list” and also made me realize that I hadn’t taken the necessary steps needed to ensure an easier transition of my estate to my family and friends. Preparing for your death is not a pleasant thing to do but it is something that needs to be done.
Jeff Studebaker, Investment Advisor
