Top Five Reasons to Get Your Affairs in Order NOW!

In honor of last week’s Groundhog Day holiday, we watched Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day movie. IMDb.com summarizes the movie as follows: “A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day, and the day keeps repeating until he gets it right.” Mark Twain, though he never saw the movie, offered what may be an even better plot summary, “Good judgement is the result of experience, and experience the result of bad judgement.” While Bill Murray’s character was able to learn from his mistakes and eventually win the girl’s heart, we don’t get do-overs in real life, especially when it comes to end-of-life planning. So, in the spirit of that principle, we share our top five reasons why now is the time to get your affairs in order.

For simplicity’s sake, we address the topic from a couple’s standpoint, though we recognize that not everyone is in that situation. Please adjust or modify how these ideas pertain to your circumstances.

Top Five Reasons to Plan Now

5. Death Has No Timetable – We conducted an informal survey with the widows and widowers in our Facebook support group. One of the questions we asked was, “Was your spouse terminal or was the death unexpected?” Following is the breakdown of the 155 responses we received:

• Terminal Illness: 43%

• Unexpected: 57%

  • Accident: 9%

  • Sudden illness or health issue (COVID, heart attack, etc.): 29%

  • Suicide: 3%

  • Cause not mentioned: 16%

While hardly a scientific study, the results should give you pause. Over half of the respondents did not know death was coming and therefore had little chance to make any end-of-life plans before their spouse died. And if any of couples who experienced a terminal death were like Kris and I, we knew it was coming but still didn’t talk about it.

There are few “groundhog day”, second chances in real life. Get your affairs in order now!

4. Save Money – Every aspect of end-of-life planning will be more expensive the longer you wait. Life insurance is an obvious example. Every tick of the clock takes you closer to death, which makes you a higher risk to the life insurance companies, which translates to higher premiums for your policy. And if you’re diagnosed with any kind of cancer or illness before you’ve locked in your life insurance, your premiums will be significantly higher, if you can even find a carrier willing to offer you a policy.

In addition, standard inflation will create higher rates for attorneys, financial planners, burial plots, etc. The plots that I purchased for Kris and I are in a small town, rural cemetery and cost us about $1500 for the two plots. Six years later, those same plots would now cost us about $4000.

If you value money and try to make good investments, get your affairs in order now!

3. Control – Acting now while you’re of a sound mind and in good health allows you full control over your future and that of your family. You are free to evaluate and talk through the pros and cons of various options that are best for everyone. As soon as death impacts your family, lack of preparation will more often than not put you at the mercy of others. The courts may make decisions that negatively impact you. You might need to rely on family or government support to pay your bills. You might be forced to hire an attorney to untangle the legalities of estate law.

If you like having the ball in your court and controlling your own destiny, get your affairs in order now!

2. Peace of Mind – Have you ever considered buying something unique, like a home that’s in a great location, at the right price, with all your desired features, only to find that while you were “sleeping on it” someone else swooped in and bought it first? Think about how you felt the moment you found out it could have been yours, but suddenly it wasn’t. You might have felt a pang of deep disappointment, a stinging sense of regret, and a stab of foolishness for waiting too long.

End-of-life planning can be like that. Many widows and widowers are kicking themselves for not doing more to be prepared. They knew they should have spent the time and effort to be ready but they allowed other priorities to get in the way until it was too late.

Do not let this be you. The peace of mind that will accompany you throughout the rest of your life when you’ve made the end-of-life planning investment is an invaluable gift you’ll give yourself and your family. It will allow you to live freely and face the future with fortitude.

If you want to get that nagging, unprepared feeling out your system, get your affairs in order now!

1. It’s the Right Thing to Do – The beneficiaries of advanced planning are the loved ones left behind, making it truly a labor of love. Making sure that your family is financially, legally, emotionally, and practically prepared is the greatest gift and legacy you can offer them.

We’ve heard many say, “Why bother with this stuff. I’ll be dead and they can do what they want.” That is a selfish and shameful attitude. On top of the grief they’ll feel, lack of preparation can potentially leave your family financially destitute, stuck in probate court, forever second-guessing whether they’ve carried out your wishes, and trying to squelch family in-fighting over assets and funeral plans. When left with these unnecessary burdens, they will feel anger and resentment rather than love and longing towards you.

If you love your family, don’t risk leaving them unprotected. Please get your affairs in order now!

P.S. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which predicts another six weeks of below-average temperatures.