It is important to document your healthcare wishes. The failure to document one’s end of life wishes beforehand can lead to unfortunate outcomes such as family conflict or unnecessarily aggressive and expensive end-of-life care. The common instinct to “do everything” to keep a loved one alive, can sometimes take over and skew one’s perspective. In these situations, clear instructions are incredibly helpful to both the physicians, the patient, and the family.

You need a legal estate plan to determine what happens to your property, who takes care of your kids, and who makes decisions for you if you can’t. It will also help you avoid probate, a costly legal process where the government gets involved in distributing your assets.