How to Eat an Elephant: Achieving Financial Success One Bite at a Time

Chapter 11

Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Personal Care Directives

A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.

—Niccolo Machiavelli

CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING IT TO this point in the book! Now that you've been through all these steps to get your finances in order, it would be a shame for them to end up going to the wrong people or being controlled by a government-appointed trustee. It is for these reasons that wills, powers of attorney, and personal care directives are a critical component of financial success.

Whether you are single or married, widowed or divorced, have children or not, these three documents can play an important role in ensuring that your wishes are followed when it comes to your assets during life and upon your death, and your personal care.

From this chapter you will get an understanding of what the different documents are for and what they're capable of doing for you and for your family and heirs. It will explain the main components of each of these documents and the people who will need to be considered before preparing them.

With the information provided within this chapter, you should be able to determine a number of the factors necessary to have these documents prepared for you by a professional. By having all of this information up front and combined with all the work you have done on your finances to this point and understanding what's involved, this information could save you several ...