When Planning Really Matters

November 25, 2014

Last week, a colleague of mine lost her best friend to cancer. She was one of those people whose presence made you feel at peace. She also was great at planning for the future.

She had talked to a financial planner years before her cancer diagnosis to map out a game plan if she could not work – realizing that as a single woman in her 30s, the biggest threat to her future was a lack of an ability to generate an income, especially as a business owner.  Nearly 50% of all personal bankruptcies and mortgage foreclosures are attributable to injuries and illnesses. She did not want to become a statistic so she wisely invested in a quality benefits package for her business, giving her employees and herself a quality healthcare plan and short and long term disability benefits.

She also got a life insurance policy to make sure her debts and funeral expenses would not be a burden to others plus business overheard expense insurance, which would have paid her business expenses if she became disabled. Her careful planning meant that no one had to pay for her funeral. When she was diagnosed with cancer, she at least had the peace of mind of knowing that money was not going to be one of her worries.

As a mom, she loved her family dearly. She knew that estate planning is not about the person that dies but about taking care of those still left behind. She realized that if anything happened to her, it would be easier for those left behind if she wrote out instructions about her wishes so she did a living will, will and healthcare directive.

Her family did not have to spend a lot of time settling her estate. Her instructions took care of everything. Her careful planning gave her loved ones the time they needed to mourn her loss instead of spending hours in a probate office.

The planning she did for the unexpected, like cancer, made her last years much more peaceful. Her careful planning allowed her to spend them fulfilling her bucket list as opposed to worrying about filling the financial buckets of medical institutions and debtors. My colleague will miss her and and we should all give thanks this week when we sit down with loved ones we can still share Thanksgiving with.