If you’re like the rest of us, tomorrow is going to look a lot like today- get ready for work, get the kids ready for school, check an email here and there, and try to stay ahead of a busy schedule.
Predictable, for better or worse.
What none of us are expecting is for tomorrow to be the day that everything changes.
If it was, do you have people in your life that you trust to step in and help?
And would those people know what you’d want them to do?
Consider This Scenario
Imagine a young parent who spends several weeks in the hospital recovering from an unexpected medical emergency.
Their spouse is suddenly balancing hospital visits, work, childcare, household responsibilities, and everything else that comes with keeping a family together.
Questions pile up.
Which accounts need attention? Bank accounts, insurance policies, taxes… Are monthly bills being paid?
Where are important documents located?
Who can step in to help make decisions if needed?
Does anyone know where to find the information needed to make those decisions?
These are the makings of a crisis scenario.
Not because the family lacks support.
Not because people don’t care.
But because important information often lives in one person’s head until it is suddenly needed by everyone else.
For Business Owners, The Questions Become More Complicated
The challenges don’t stop at home.
For business owners, an unexpected illness or injury can create an entirely different set of questions.
Who handles customers?Who would authorize payroll?
Who would communicate with employees?
Who would keep the business running while the owner recovers?
Many small businesses depend heavily on one person. When that person is suddenly unavailable, even temporarily, family members and employees can find themselves trying to navigate situations they were never prepared for.
Why Many Families Never Get Started
Many of us avoid thinking about these questions because they don’t feel realistic and they’re stressful to even think about.
Most people assume they’ll have time to figure it out later.
Others don’t know where to begin.
As a result, planning often stays on the to-do list year after year.
The good news is that planning does not have to be complicated.
You don’t have to solve every problem overnight.
In many cases, getting started is as simple as identifying the people you trust, talking to them about the role you’d like them to play, and creating a plan for them to access the information they may need if life takes an unexpected turn.
Questions Worth Asking
If something happened tomorrow, how would your family respond?
Consider these questions:
● Who would care for my children if I couldn’t?
● Who would make decisions on my behalf, and do they know I’ve chosen them?
● Does that person know what I would want them to do?
● Would they know where to find important information?
● If I own a business, could someone step in if necessary?
You don’t need perfect answers today.
But asking the questions is often the first step toward creating a plan.
A Different Way To Think About Planning
Sometimes we find that people avoid planning because they don’t want to dwell on worst-case scenarios. We understand that.
We’d suggest considering another perspective.
Planning for these situations isn’t really about expecting something bad to happen.
It’s about making life easier for the people you care about if something unexpected does happen.
It’s about reducing confusion during stressful moments.
It’s about giving the people you trust the guidance and information they may need.
And once a plan is in place, it’s one less thing for you to worry about.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing a new guide called If Something Happened Tomorrow, focused on the questions many families don’t think to ask until they’re faced with them.
We look forward to sharing it with you.