Planning with Cancer

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  • #92688
    marions
    Moderator

    Adding to Crissie’s comments: Filling out advance directives gives people control over their health care.
    Each state has its own laws regarding advance directives. Therefore, special care should be taken to follow the laws of the state where you live or are being treated. A living will or medical power of attorney that is accepted in one state may not be accepted in another state. State-specific advance directives can be downloaded from the National Hospice and Palliative Care link:

    http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/mana … yimportant

    Hugs,
    Marion

    #92687
    crissie
    Spectator

    Another thing….make sure you have a power of attorney set up. My dad had made me power of attorney so when he got really ill at the end, I could take care of things and access his funds to pay bills or what have you.

    Make sure your executor knows what to expect when you pass. Sometimes you don’t know what to expect…do you have cds, life ins through work?

    Make sure your executor or power of attorney knows about how much you think you have. That helps them plan for bills and or what to look for. Am I looking for 500 dollars or 50000? Do you have bills or loans that need payment.

    Make sure your power of attorney /executor is working for you. That is the person that will make sure you get what you need. I had to tell my dad’s “girlfriend” that she wasn’t getting any more money. Didn’t mind that but you need someone that will make sure you get what you need first.

    Also-if you are power of attorney and then they die, all access to accounts stop. I had to wait until the will went to probate to deal with any financial stuff.

    Be prepared….

    #92686
    middlesister1
    Moderator

    Joe,

    Thank you for the wonderful contribution. I’m sure it will help many of our members –

    Take care,
    Catherine

    #92684
    marions
    Moderator

    Joe…..this is a great thread and I thank you for it.

    Hugs,
    Marion

    #92685
    jpmski
    Spectator

    Following these suggestions may go a long way toward helping you and your family with your financial future:

    1. Tackle the legal aspects. Having up-to-date legal documents is crucial for making things go more smoothly for survivors and ensuring wishes are honored.

    2. Leave instructions about your wishes. There’s another important document you should create — one that doesn’t require an attorney. It’s called a letter of instruction, and it helps your survivors with many of the details that aren’t covered in your will.

    3. Consolidate your money. You can dramatically simplify things for yourself and your survivors by consolidating these accounts with one financial services provider.

    4. Take a fresh look at your investments. Because of your illness, you may want to consider taking a more conservative approach to minimize volatility, or you may want to reevaluate your portfolio with a financial professional to help you be prepared for future expenses.

    5. Review your beneficiaries. Life insurance policies, annuities, IRAs and employer retirement plans all allow you to name beneficiaries who will inherit these accounts.

    6. Check your eligibility for government benefits. Depending on the nature of your illness, you may qualify for assistance from Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

    7. Find out if you can take an advance on your life insurance. If you’re anticipating financial hardship during your illness, find out if your life insurance plans have accelerated benefits provisions allowing the terminally ill to tap a portion of their policy’s death benefit while they’re still living.

    8. Ask for advice.

    #12601
    jpmski
    Spectator

    My name is Joe, and mother recently passed away from this disease. She fought it for 18 months, and this website is where I found the best information about Cholangiocarcinoma, quickly. It helped me feel like I knew what she was dealing with, for better or worse, but that’s what I wanted.

    The message board is a great resource and I would like to give back to the community by starting a thread that covered ancillary issues that go hand-in-hand with cancer. I have a wealth management firm with a lot of experience in estate, financial, and business succession planning. This is an area that could easily get forgotten once someone gets diagnosed. This cancer is very aggressive and time consuming, and given that they usually don’t find it until the later stages you may not want to talk about or make decisions in this area. It’s too important for that to happen, and this is one area you do have control.

    I’m not allowed to give recommendations or specific advice , but I’ll educate and answer what I can. if anyone has additional questions, issues, or concerns in this area feel free to post it or shoot me an email.

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