People talk about the indignities of old age. Needing help with simple tasks like eating, bathing, and toileting. Not being able to drive. Not being able to get around. Ending up in a nursing home. The losses pile up.
Maybe you’ve seen it happen to your parents. Their retirement plan, with its focus on accumulating money and creating legal documents, didn’t prepare them for the problems created by incapacity. When they can no longer manage their affairs, you, the person named on their Power of Attorney, must take control.
It’s not easy. Nothing is where it’s supposed to be. Forced to go through your parents’ things to unearth the information you need to run their lives, you find more than you bargained for. Pictures from that toga party back in 1980, Daddy’s porn stash, and Mama’s love letters to an old flame are just the beginning. Some things you just can’t unsee.
Your parents didn’t plan for this. They didn’t know they needed to. They were certain they would die in their sleep. And then it hits you. The biggest indignity of old age isn’t the health problems; it’s humiliation of losing control of the ability to keep your private life private. If you haven’t planned for the reality of incapacity, the people who step in to run your life are going to discover things you’d rather they not see.
If you’re in your 50s, 60s, or 70s, it’s not too late to create a plan for retirement that goes beyond financial plans and legal documents to address all the problems created by long life and incapacity. It’s the only surefire way to keep your secrets out of the hands of the people you’ve chosen to manage your affairs. Get started now.
