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Get Your Financial Affairs In Order Before It’s Too Late

When you’re thinking about the future and your later years, it’s important to think about how you want your money to be handled.

Author:James Pierce
Reviewer:Camilo Wood
Dec 02, 20221 Shares120 Views
When you’re thinking about the future and your later years, it’s important to think about how you want your money to be handled. You should also think about how you will pay for essential costs in the event of an illness or death.
Taking the time to sort things out now will ensure you or your family are ready to meet any expenses that come up in the future. It will also take the pressure off when it comes to Arizona probate.
In this post, you’ll discover some of the things you need to be thinking about now before it’s too late.

Clear Your Debts

Any debts you might have should be tackled before any other money issues. Some of your debts may be more important than others, so you should split them into priority debts, non-priority debts, and debt emergencies.
Priority debts include court fines, energy bills, tax, mortgage, rent, loans secured against your home, and hire purchase agreements. You should pay off these first because not paying them may have serious consequences.

Review Your Budget

You may have to manage on a lower income in your later years so it’s important to examine your budget closely and see how you can make the most of your income.
Reviewing your budget is also an important step if you’ve got debts you need to deal with. Looking at your budget gives you a chance to see how much money you’ve got left to clear your debts.

Claim What You’re Entitled To

If you’re living on a low income, there may be some benefits you can claim.

Grow Your Savings

You can’t predict what’s going to happen in the future or what emergencies might occur. It’s therefore really important to have some savings set aside to deal with them. However, it’s not always possible to build up savings if your income is low or fixed.
Another advantage of reviewing your budget is that you may spot a way to free up some money you could save in an easy-access savings account.
Getting insurance is something else to consider as it can be a cost-effective way to provide an income for your dependents if something were to happen to you.
Insurance might also provide income protection, should you be unable to work. Another option is life insurance which will pay a lump sum to your dependents when you die.

Formal Arrangements for Your Finances

Have you thought about how your money and finances will be taken care of should you be unable to make decisions for yourself? The best way to get this in order is with a formal arrangement, such as a Power of Attorney.
A Power of Attorney is a legally binding document that allows you to appoint someone to manage your property, medical, or financial affairs. Anyone over 18 can create a Power of Attorney, and it’s a common starting point for people who are formalizing plans for their future.
A POA is typically used by those who cannot manage their affairs, either because of an illness, aging, a disability, or simply being away for an extended period.

Plan for Long-Term Care Costs

Long-term care can be very expensive and there are very few people who can afford to pay it out of their day-to-day income. Thinking ahead about what you would do if you needed long-term care is a smart thing to do.
It’s hard to look into the future and think about something that might never happen. However, care decisions often have to be made by your close family. If there was no conversation before help was needed, how will they know what you want?

Write Your Will

When you write a will, it makes it much easier for family or friends to sort everything out when you die. If there is no will, it can make the process very stressful and time-consuming.
When you die, everything you own will be shared out according to the law, which might not be the way you want it.
Writing a will is especially important if you’ve got children or other dependents who rely on you financially. It’s also vital if you want to leave something to people outside your immediate family.

Plan Your Funeral

Funerals are often expensive, but there are ways to keep costs low and plan ahead so your loved ones don’t have to worry about finding the money at an emotional time.
Here are some ways you can pay for your funeral upfront:
  • Life insurance: Some policies have additional benefits that cover funeral costs. You can also make sure proceeds are easily available after your death by having them written in trust. 
  • Pre-paid funeral plan: You pay a lump sum or installments to a funeral plan provider. They invest the cash and use it to cover the cost of a funeral you’ve chosen. 
  • Savings account: One of the easiest options is to put money into an easy-access savings account and earmark it for your funeral expenses.
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James Pierce

James Pierce

Author
Camilo Wood

Camilo Wood

Reviewer
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