By Lindsay C. Jones, Associate Attorney

Every day, your decisions protect and provide for your family. But what if you can no longer make those decisions? Should you plan ahead, or just sit back and worry? Waiting is the easy choice- after all, this isn t something that anyone likes to think about. Yet, what if later  turns out to be too late ?

Statistically, there are four stages at which individuals are confronted with fears of worse-case scenarios,  when planning ahead suddenly makes sense: when a couple first marries, when they have their first child, when their parents encounter health problems, and when they themselves begin to face the health problems of aging.

So what is it about these stages that cause people to think about proactively planning for the worst? In each case, planning ahead has become important to these individuals because it allows them to protect and provide for their spouse, children, and parents. Think of the hard decisions you and your family have had to make over the generations, especially regarding late-life health concerns. Would you want your children to endure similar experiences? By making the tough choices for yourself now, you are protecting your loved ones from being forced to make them later.

Legal documents like a Will, Durable Powers of Attorney, and a Living Will can help you make the most difficult and important decisions now, so that your loved ones can make later decisions on your behalf- comforted by the knowledge that, whatever the decision, it s what you would have wanted.

No one can ever know what lies in their future- but taking proactive legal steps now can help alleviate the fear of the unknown for you and your loved ones, enabling you to effectively deal with crises before they ever happen.