Perhaps the most crucial step for seniors planning on aging alone is choosing fiduciaries. A fiduciary is someone you trust to act on your behalf and make decisions when you can't. It is important to understand that a fiduciary won’t be your caregiver, but they will decide what care you should receive and manage your life if you cannot. In this weekly six-part blog series, we will explore important fiduciary roles and special considerations for those who are planning on aging alone.
Understanding Fiduciary Roles: Before executing critical legal planning documents, you will need to choose fiduciaries to serve in each of the following roles:
- Health Care Decision Maker: Appointed through a document called a Health Care Proxy, Health Care Surrogate, or Health Care Power of Attorney. This fiduciary makes medical decisions for you if you are unable to communicate.
- Financial Decision Maker: Appointed through a Power of Attorney document. This fiduciary manages your financial affairs and transactions
- Executor, Personal Representative, or Trustee: Appointed through your Will or Trust. This fiduciary ensures your estate is distributed according to your wishes after you die.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Fiduciary: When selecting fiduciaries for healthcare, financial management, or managing your estate, consider the following factors:
- Availability: Ensure your chosen fiduciary is available now and in the foreseeable future.
- Willingness: Ask them if they are willing to take on the role. As we go through this series, you will have a list of questions to ask each fiduciary to ensure they are up to the task.
- Responsibility: Look for individuals demonstrating responsible behavior in their own lives.
- Trustworthiness: Trust is the most important factor.
Choosing a Backup: Decide on a backup fiduciary if your primary choice is unavailable. If family or friends are not viable options, consider professional fiduciaries. Visit SoloAllies.com to find a directory of professional fiduciaries near you. If there is a crisis and you do not have proper legal documents and fiduciaries who are ready to act on your behalf, it is likely that the court will become involved and a stranger could be appointed as your Guardian and Conservator.
Should the Same Person Serve in Every Role_ It depends on your options. While having different people in each role can create a system of checks and balances, it's very common to name the same person in every role. There are other ways to ensure checks and balances.
Time Commitment and Compensation: Fiduciaries need to be ready to act on your behalf at a moment's notice. Serving as a fiduciary can take a significant amount of time. Unless you appoint a very close family member, you should plan to pay a reasonable amount for the services your fiduciary will provide.
Information to Share Now: Provide your fiduciaries with essential information now to ease their future responsibilities. This may include a list of important contacts, financial account details, and preferences regarding healthcare and end-of-life decisions.
Check back next week for the second part of this series, where we will explore the specific fiduciary role of the Health Care Decision maker. At SoloAllies.com, we support solo seniors with information, resources, and coaching services to guide you and to help refer and connect you with trustworthy professionals to help them thrive.