Must-Have Legal & Financial Documents to Retire Well

Get Your Financial & Legal Documentation Ready Today

When you are finally ‘grown up’, time has come to create and have easy access to 5 core financial / legal documents. It is important to do this sooner rather than later as you want to have these documents in place before there is an emergency or a health crisis to deal with. The older we get, the more important it becomes to have these documents in place.

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1. Will
   You might have guessed this one. Yes, you need to have a will in place, and a good time to make one is right now. A will is a document that sets out your wishes to all people you leave behind. A Will will truly help your family bypass an emotional strain of sorting our your assets in detail.

   If you have a family with children, then you must have a will. The will will spell out who you want to become the legal guardians of your children, in case you and your partner both pass away. This is an important decision and is not something that a law officer in court should decide. The future care for your child should be your choice alone.

   There are two ways to draw up a will: you can ask a lawyer to draw one up for you. Or you could generate one on your own computer. There are will-creation forms available online.

   Every few years, you should revisit your will, particularly if there have been major life changes, such as additional children, a marriage or divorce, and of course when you change your preferences of whom to leave your assets and your children with.

2. Emergency Information Page

   In case of an unexpected situation, an emergency information sheet provides all required information for someone to contact your family, doctor(s), hospital and chosen emergency caregivers (e.g. the person(s) in your health care proxy). Include name, address, email and phone numbers. In addition to those contact details, your information sheet should include where to find the other documents mentioned here in this article. This page should be a well organized document so that anyone can understand it and act upon it on your behalf.

   

3. Health Care Proxy

   This document is not as well-known as a will. A health care proxy is a document that entitles someone you choose the legal right to make decisions for you with respect to your health care, in those situations whereby you can’t able to make them for yourself.

   It makes of course good sense to choose someone who knows you well, and who knows your health care preferences and wishes. Of course it is important that you can trust this person to respect your wishes, even if they are not in perfect alignment with their wishes for you.

4. Living Will

   A living will is akin to a health care proxy, however it sets out specific information with regards to what medical treatment you do or do not want, if you are terminally ill or can not communicate on your own. It’s purpose is to explain and enforce your wishes to hospital staff.

5. Durable Power of Attorney

   Last but not least important is the fifth document: a durable power of attorney. This legal document gives permission to a person you choose to be your ‘attorney-in-fact’ to make legal and financial decisions in your place. This is very important if you have children, much like your decision to be the future caregivers for your children.

   Choose the people you trust carefully.

Hopefully, you won’t need any of these documents any time soon.

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