Originally published in the 2025, Issue 1, Retiree Guardian

By Greg Snyder

A few times every year I get a help request from someone who’s had a relative that worked for the company pass away.  “What do I do?” “Who do I contact?”  It’s an easy question to answer. From the front page on our website, just click on the link for What to do when a retiree dies. That will open the document to read or print as you choose. I guess the proof that it’s an excellent end-of-life document is that I’ve never had anyone come back to me for further help.

It strikes me that while our What to do when a retiree dies, along with wills and trusts, are reffered to as “End-of-Life Documents”, there are other associated documents such as Power-of-Attorney and Health Care Directives which should be called “Life Documents.” Most often referred to as Advance Directives, these documents actually need to be put in place long before the end of your life.

No matter how fit you keep yourself, no matter how safe you are, no matter how young you are, a dire life event can hit you in an instant. A car crash, a medical emergency or the like can leave you incapacitated and your loved ones trying to take care of you, and your affairs.  I can tell you from personal experience in caring for someone, that if that happens to you, and you leave your loved ones scrambling to care for you without a Durable POA and Health Care Directive in place, you will increase your care giver’s burden by leaps and bounds.

Power-of-Attorney (POA) – A Power-of-Attorney (POA) is a document that gives someone the ability to make decisions for you during your lifetime — its value ends when you die.  Other Advanced Health Care documents include Directives sometimes called Living Wills, which instruct your health care providers your wishes for treatment during a medical emergency or if you are incapacitated by a chronic health issue.  Sometimes a Health Care Proxy — the person you wish to make decisions on your behalf — is named in the Directive or sometimes in a separate document called a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.

Having a Power of Attorney is a significant step in ensuring that your affairs are managed according to your wishes in case you become unable to do so yourself.  Situations where a POA would prove invaluable include:

1. Financial Management: A financial POA grants your agent the authority to manage your financial affairs, such as paying bills from your financial accounts, managing investments, and handling property transactions. This can prevent financial mismanagement and ensure your assets are protected.
2. Avoiding Court Interventions: Without a POA, your loved ones might have to go through a lengthy and expensive court process to appoint a guardian or conservator to manage your affairs. A POA avoids this process and provides clarity.
3. Temporary Assistance: If you’re temporarily unable to manage your affairs due to travel or illness, a POA allows your designated agent to step in and handle things seamlessly.

Overall, having a POA in place will provide you with peace of mind, knowing that someone you trust has the legal authority to act on your behalf when needed.

There are many resources available online which instruct on creating POAs.  Be aware that much of this information could be inaccurate, obsolete due to law changes, or only valid in certain local jurisdictions.  Consulting an attorney may be the best, quickest and least costly method of ensuring this important document is…

• Legal
• Meets your specific needs
• Has the appropriate signatures and notarizations
• Is distributed to the right people
• Is accepted in use once needed

The National Council on Aging (https://tinyurl.com/2zrnfhcj) offers their insight and advice, and walks you through the process of creating a POA.

Health Care Directive – A health care directive, also known as an advance directive or living will, is a legal document that lets you outline your preferences for medical care if you’re unable to communicate your wishes yourself. This might happen due to severe illness, unconsciousness, or incapacity.

It’s a way to ensure your values and priorities guide your medical care, even in difficult circumstances, and often includes:

• Medical treatment preferences: For example, whether you want life-sustaining measures like ventilators or feeding tubes.
• Pain management choices: Your wishes for comfort care.
• Organ donation preferences.
• Appointing a health care proxy or agent: This is a trusted person who makes decisions on your behalf.

To get started on a Health Care Directive, first check with your local care providers.  Often their online systems, such as MyChart, include a section where you can create your health care documents simply by answering a series of questions.  Once done, you are allowed to download a PDF of the document in order to file it with all your health care providers.

If your care provider cannot help you with your directive you should be able to find a variety of free Health Care Directive forms online,  CaringInfo (https://www.caringinfo.org/planning/advance-directives/) might be a good source to start, but there are others.

• Already completed these two documents for yourself? Don’t forget to keep them updated. Misinformation can be as bad as no information.

What about the young adults? Once you’ve finished your POA and Health Care Directives I suggest you ask your children whether they have completed the same documents for themselves.  And how about your grown grandchildren?  When a child turns 18, parents can no longer make medical decisions for them without proper authorization. Bottom line? Everyone 18 and older should have a POA and a Health Care Directive in place.  I have even considered giving a gift certificate to my grandchildren when they graduate from high school for legal services, then personally take them to a lawyer to create the documents. It could be a valuable “adulting” experience for both of us!