017. Aging, Estate Planning and Wills: Tips to Make Difficult Conversations Easier

What this episode covers

People don’t typically look forward to estate planning or discussions about death in general, but it’s a critical conversation to have with loved ones. If there’s a high-stress, emergency situation, families are not in the right mindset to make important financial decisions in that moment. That’s why knowing someone’s wishes for when it's time can make it easier down the road.This week Lori welcomes Lorne Book, an attorney specializing in estate planning and probate matters involving retirees and their families. As an expert in elder law, he discusses how to have those difficult conversations, so family knows how to handle your wishes if the unthinkable happens. Framing it as a business meeting with a trained professional can help it go smoothly and avoid any roadblocks along the way.Takeaways from this episode:- Discussing end-of-life matters early on can help prepare family members and lessen the shock when the day comes.- The only way your family will know of your wishes is if you communicate them.- The “fog of grief,” or inability to think clearly while grieving, is not a favorable condition to make business decisions for the first time.- The grieving process is easier when end-of-life plans have been discussed by the family and all guesswork is eliminated.- Older parents can be like children when they go to college by not communicating everything that’s going on to prevent any worrying. That’s why it’s important to pursue the conversation.- Hearing from an unbiased third party / outside professional can help open a person’s eyes to the reality of the situation and need for planning.- It can be costly to put off estate planning - failure to do so may result in a court-appointed guardianship when the time comes, with ongoing reporting requirements.- While it’s important to have estate planning conversations, be sensitive to people’s emotions and try to time it just right.Topics discussed:- Estate planning- Family financial planning- Elder law / probate matters- Senior care- Grieving- End-of-life preparationTo learn more about Lorne and Book Law Firm please visit:https://www.booklawfirm.com/https://www.facebook.com/BookLawFirm/https://twitter.com/booklawfirmhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/lorne-book-0956724/To suggest a topic, be a guest or to support the podcast please email [email protected] or reach out online:https://www.facebook.com/LoriWilliamsSeniorServices/https://www.instagram.com/theloriwilliams/https://www.linkedin.com/in/theloriwilliams/https://loriwilliams-seniorservices.com/aging-in-style-podcast/

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