Generally speaking, if you have kids, you have someone to watch over you beyond your golden years.
And its important to plan now.
Who will make medical decisions for you when you cant make them on your own?
They consist of two basic things: aliving willand ahealth care proxy.
A living will establishes what kind of medical care you want to receive under certain conditions.
Living will guidelinesvary by state, but there are online tools that can walk you through the process.
For example, LegalZoom breaks it down intothree simple steps here.
Your living will also includes a health care proxy, or a medical power of attorney.
This is someone who will make decisions about your medical care that arent covered in your living will.
You may be divorced in your senior years, or you may outlive your spouse.
So its important to designate a backup just in case, and you want to upgrade your directives accordingly.
When you dont have children, it can be tough to find someone to fill that role.
The vast majority of elder abuse is committed by family members.
Or you might appoint an attorney to act as your health care proxy.U.S.
Unlike your friends, they have a license to defend and are well-versed in elder care issues.
Most of the time, Rahls found, theyre trustworthy and will do a good job for you.
Obviously,this should be someone you trust.
This might mean asking your power of attorney to send monthly statements to an accountant, for example.
You spell out specific details about when this person has control over your finances, too.
TheAmerican Association of Individual Investorshas a few recommendations tohelp you find a reputable estate lawyer.
it’s possible for you to change your power of attorney, too, as your life goes on.
Maybe youdoend up having kids you could alwaysrevoke your old documentand create a new one.
But a will doesnt just establish who gets your stuff when you die.
If you have a partner or youre married, you mightcreate a sweetheart will with your spouse.
A free tool likeWilling can help you take care of itall and guide you through the process.
You save to buy a beach h or fund your leisurely lunches.
In reality, youll use your retirement savings to pay for less attractive things like health care costs.
And senior care (better known as long-term care) is expensive.
On average,the cost of an assisted living facility is $3,293 per month, according to theU.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
When you dont have children, thats one less safety net.
So you want tofully consider other options, like saving early onin a Health Savings Account.
Long-term care insurancehas its share of critics, but, in some cases, its the best option.
With any insurance policy, you want to read your explanation of benefits and double-check you know whats covered.
you’ve got the option to see how individual cities and metro areas rank, too.
You cancheck out their full methodology here.
When youre young, none of this seems like a priority.
Illustration by Sam Woolley.
