Life's not always fair. We often get warnings ...but often we don't.
Marc and Terry had been a couple for 8 years. Their son Josh was 5 and their daughter Sarah was 4 when tragedy struck. There were no warnings!
Marc and Terry ran a Hair Salon together (with a staff of 3) and had been in operation for 11 years when they had the car accident.It happened on the way home from a party, late one evening. An impaired driver came through a stop sign and crashed into them 'full on'. Marc was killed instantly and Terry was very seriously injured. She was unconscious and remained in a coma. The Doctors had no immediate expectations of what Terry's future might be.
There is no point on dwelling on why this happened. As we live and breathe 'stuff' happens.
What had Marc and Terry done to prepare for this kind of tragedy?
Sadly...they had done very little.
On the 'plus' side: they had trained back up people for the Salon.
On the 'negative' side: no one had signing authority so that the continuity of business could be assured.
+ : There was an insurance policy for Marc's death.
- : There was no insurance for disability or incapacitation to assist Terry.
+: They had arranged for Marc's sister and her husband to be Guardians for the children about 2 years earlier.
-: Unfortunately the Sister and her Husband had split up 8 months earlier and his Sister wasn't in a position to assume the responsibility. There was no back up Guardian in place.
+: Marc and Terry did have Wills that had been prepared before the children were born.
-: Though there were Wills... Marc was deceased but Terry was still alive and had no Powers of Attorney nor Medical Directive. The 'right' things could be accomplished but it would take time and unnecessary expense.
There was no back up Executor for Marc's Will and Terry was, by no means, in a position to deal with it.
+: Josh and Sarah were taken in by close family friends and taken care of in the loving, kind way that Marc and Terry would want.
-: The finances and backup systems that might have been available were no longer available. The Salon had to be closed and losses were incurred. Terry remains in a long term care facility. She remains in a coma.
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What might Marc and Terry have done to better protect their family and employee interests?
From the outline of information you've just read there are a few points that can be made.
- Current Will.
- Back up Executor.
- Guardians and Back up Guardians with provisions for the caregiver. Possibly Trusts.
- Powers of Attorney.
- Medical Directive.
- Disability Insurances.
- Succession and contingency planning for the business.
Had Marc and Terry coordinated their efforts to protect themselves with a Professional Coordinator then many if not all the holes in their plan may have surfaced and the unique challenges of their situation anticipated in a more functional manner.
It is unlikely that all eventualities can be anticipated but there is seldom a reason why most concerns can't be addressed in a pro-active and timely manner.
