I am pleased to announce that my FIL (retired brigadier general and corporate VP) has been placed into an assisted living facility. He thinks it's for a one month trial but he will never move back to his house.
Just in case anyone wishes to dump on me for my heartlessness, my FIL has moderate Alzheimer's and is incapable of almost everything but dressing himself. Because of the condition, he sees no difference in his abilities and wants to keep living in his home and driving.
I had originally written a long, morbid post. That is the reason for the literary reference to either Burroughs or Kipling (feel free to tell me which used it in one of their short stories).
I have summarized my objectives below and cut most of the blather.
- Keep your financial records in good order and easily accessible. You never know when you won't be the one accessing them.
- Realize you won't live forever and, at some point, you may be alive but not able to manage your own finances no matter how smart or powerful you once were. Have a Durable Power of Attorney. Review it reguarly.
- Don't wait forever to enjoy life. This shouldn't be a problem on this forum.
- Talk to your family about "what to do if you become disabled or die."
Here's something for everyone to think about. Many of you have already done what's needed but I'm willing to bet many of you haven't.
For those of you that haven't, you should consider what your children will go through trying to clean up the mess you've created. My DW has been subjected to extreme levels of stress and has suffered physically because of her father's lack of action when he was competent.
Just in case anyone wishes to dump on me for my heartlessness, my FIL has moderate Alzheimer's and is incapable of almost everything but dressing himself. Because of the condition, he sees no difference in his abilities and wants to keep living in his home and driving.
I had originally written a long, morbid post. That is the reason for the literary reference to either Burroughs or Kipling (feel free to tell me which used it in one of their short stories).
I have summarized my objectives below and cut most of the blather.
- Keep your financial records in good order and easily accessible. You never know when you won't be the one accessing them.
- Realize you won't live forever and, at some point, you may be alive but not able to manage your own finances no matter how smart or powerful you once were. Have a Durable Power of Attorney. Review it reguarly.
- Don't wait forever to enjoy life. This shouldn't be a problem on this forum.
- Talk to your family about "what to do if you become disabled or die."
Here's something for everyone to think about. Many of you have already done what's needed but I'm willing to bet many of you haven't.
For those of you that haven't, you should consider what your children will go through trying to clean up the mess you've created. My DW has been subjected to extreme levels of stress and has suffered physically because of her father's lack of action when he was competent.