By the time you realize you need a lawyer, it is often too late. It might be difficult to find a good lawyer at the last minute. That is why people with means often have a family lawyer on retainer at all times. No one calls an attorney without good reason, they are much like first responders. They are the people you hope you will never have to work with. When you do end up encountering them, it is often a desperate situation where you feel hopeless and afraid. You are definitely not coming at it from a position of strength.
The better way to deal with life’s stickier issues is in advance. Like insurance, you never want to use it. But you also never want to be without it. When the worst happens, you just want to know that you are covered. Even so, there are some situations that aren’t amenable to prior preparation. You just have to hang on tight and hope for the best. Here are a few situations where you can do a little better:
Foreclosure
You do not buy a house or rent an apartment expecting foreclosure in your future. But you are also not setting yourself up for success if you don’t have a plan for what happens if you lose your job and find that you can’t make your payment. You need to know answers to questions like, how does foreclosure work. No one saw the pandemic coming. People who thought they were rent stable found themselves on the wrong end of foreclosure notices.
You can start by educating yourself on the options you have if you one day find yourself in arrears. The first thing you should know is that you actually have options. The second thing you should know is that for best results, those options should go through a law firm with experience in such matters. This is not the moment to play Yellow Pages roulette. You need to know who to call before the first notices start arriving. If you have the kind of health insurance that supplements your income when you suffer injury, that can get you by with most of your bills. When those supplemental checks come, don’t breathe a sigh of relief. Move to the next phase and speak to an attorney about what happens next.
A Living Will
There are good reasons why you need a will even if you’re broke. One of those reasons is that there is more than one kind of will. It is not just a way to legally arrange for who gets your goldfish after you pass. It is also a way of letting people know what your wishes are in the event you find yourself in the need of hard medical choices that you are not able to make at the time.
All hospitals ask you if you have a living will. Unfortunately, this usually comes less than an hour before they give you the gas. If something goes wrong on the operating table, you need to be clear about DNR directives, organ donation, and the like. You do not want your distraught family to have to make a snap judgement in the moment when they are at their emotional worst. That is why you should have a living will or advanced directive made while you are at your emotional best.
Prenuptial Agreement
A prenuptial agreement, commonly known as a prenup, is a legal contract created by two individuals before marriage. It outlines the division of assets, debts, and financial responsibilities in the event of divorce or separation. Prenups can address issues such as property rights, spousal support, and inheritance, helping to clarify expectations and protect both parties’ interests.
Everyone knows that money problems can ruin a marriage. What you might not know is that money can also ruin a divorce. If you have a lot of money or are planning to have a lot of money, you might want to have a serious, adult conversation about what happens to that money, taxes, and assets if something happens to the marriage. It is not a strictly negative thing. You don’t want to leave important matters like the care of your children to the vagaries of a judge who is operating on little sleep and a bad burrito for lunch. Make amicable arrangements while both parties are still amicable.
