5@55. Good for you. And simply Good!

We’ve been getting questions since our last post announcing our joining the “5 @ 55 Campaign.” Primarily they all are about, “Just what is this 5 at 55 anyway?” Well, here it is. The “5″ refers to the five legal documents everyone should have. The “55″ refers to that age and stage in life where folks start to prepare for retirement.

What are the “5″ legal documents folks should have by age 55? Here’s the short list:

1. A healthcare power of attorney. This document is sometimes called a healthcare proxy. By this legal document you authorize another person, your “agent,” to make medical decisions for you and handle your confidential medical matters. What does that mean? This is a subject all by itself. Your agent may be your HIPAA personal representative dealing with your confidential medical matters as when speaking for you with a treating or consulting doctor in a hospital. Your agent may be contacting your health insurance company about a benefits question. And, your agent may be dealing with end of life medical care, which brings us to the next legal document.

2. An “advance directive’ or “living will.” This the legal document that authorizes your agent to make end of life medical treatment decisions. Under Michigan law the agent’s duty is to follow your instructions, which is your advance directive.

3. The general power of attorney. By this document you name an agent to handle all other matters for you. We typically use the above separate document for all medical matters since the medical field is so regulated as to need a separate power of attorney and since there is no need for your general business providers, such as your bank, to know your confidential medical affairs.

4. Your Will or your Trust. It seems that “everybody knows” they should have a Will, but many people question whether they should have a trust. Now there’s a subject for a few blog posts!

5. A “Cyber Will” or perhaps better described as a “Digital Diary.” While the names may be confusing they get at what you need. Few people realize just how digital their lives have become. Almost any business we have is handled digitally. Just consider: what you can do without your cell phone! Not much, I’ll bet. Well you should have a record of all your accounts: bank accounts; credit card accounts; home and auto loans; leases; investment accounts; email and social medica accounts; and ? Your Will or Diary will list all and have your account numbers, your user ID and your passwords in one handy place. That way if you have an unplanned trip to the hospital or something happens while you are on vacation (isn’t that ALWAYS true?) your helpful agent will be able to take care of anything you want done.

You can see there is a lot more to cover and in future posts I’ll do my best to do it!

Pages