Organizing Legal, Health and Business Information in the Wake of Coronavirus Scare

So, who are the people at risk of getting coronavirus?

• If you travelled somewhere in the past 14 days where we have had cases with coronavirus. These places include China mainland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, japan, Iran and a few regions in Italy.
• If you have come into contact with a person who has been confirmed to be infected with the virus.

When this condition happens, unfortunately, try and organize your information.

Well, if you don’t know how much you have, then it is hard to plan for it. So, it is vital that you organize your legal, tax, financial and other vital information so that you can plan your estate fast.

When you organize your information, it’s easy to come up with proper investment plans, select the right insurance coverage, have the right titles for your assets and define what kind of estate planning documents you require.

Before you start your estate plan, make sure you have your documents ready.

Because you are at risk of developing a chronic infection, organizing your documents makes more sense. Regardless of the prognosis at the moment, it is highly likely that time will come when you won’t complete these tasks and might require the help of other people.

The coronavirus condition comes with cognitive symptoms, and since you might be quarantined, it means that you won’t be able to face people and tell them what you want to be done or give them the information they need.

So, when you organize the information early enough you ensure an easier time for your family.

The better organized the documents are, the easier it is to sustain some form of control for a longer period. For instance, if you maintain your financial assets under the same institution, you will monitor them even from your phone in your quarantine area.

Subject to the progression of the illness, you might eventually need somebody to handle administrative and financial work for you. The better organized the information is, the better they will handle this. This means your agent spends more time handling the important tasks, rather than running around to look for documents.

Organizing your documents gives the agent a peek into what you have done in the past. With this history, your agent will be able to see what you have done in the past and come up with decisions depending on the history. This is especially true when you cannot communicate your wishes clearly.

You won’t organize every document that comes your way, only a few which are vital to your succession. Here is the definitive list:

Power of Attorney (POA). Keep an original copy with your estate planning attorney, and an original with the agent and a copy with other agents. Retain a copy and give one to the financial planner.

Living will. Keep an original copy with the attorney, primary agent, and other alternative agents. Give another copy to the attending physicians.

Health care proxy. Retain an original copy with the lawyer, principal agent and other agents. Have another copy with the attending physician.

Will. Hand an original copy to the lawyer. However confirm that the mode of storage of the document is safe so that you don’t have to lose the documents when you really need them. Don’t distribute so many copies because your feelings might change and you might decide to change the beneficiary that inherits your estate.

With the coronavirus spreading so fast, put your estate order. Try and have all the documents you need in a single place, where your executor can get to fast. Consult with a top estate planning lawyer to understand what you need to organize your documents. Remember, the better they are organized the faster you can come up with a comprehensive estate plan faster.