Who do you call?

I know, the ghostbusters. But really, if something happens to you – especially in the middle of the night – who would you call? First call may be 911, but what person, what friend, would you call? Who, to be blunt, would answer the phone?

There was a time when everyone had landlines. And before that, only one phone, and before that, no cell phones and no voice mail. No answering machines. And if you go back far enough, you may remember a time when people answered the phone because they had to or maybe wanted to. But today we text or if we call, it goes to voice mail.

Estate planning is about inevitability, end of life planning. But it is also about possibilities, incapacity and illness. And when or if this happens, you want to have the paperwork in place for those who will help you, but you also want to be ready to call them. Who will answer the phone, no matter what time of day or night? Who will be able to think clearly enough about what should be done to help you? And who would say, when asked, “of course you can call me”?

Then when you have a lifeline established, think about whether or not you would answer that call and if so, maybe call your family/friends and tell them.

Life can be challenging, and it is nice to know, perhaps more now in 2020 than ever before, that there are still people who are always there for you.

And answering the phone.