We love it when we have relationships with our clients that last for decades. There are times, however, when life changes spark an understanding of the importance of certain things including Estate Planning. Either way, it frequently happens that we arrive at a time when we have to deal with the diagnoses of a terminal illness.
It is, of course, important to review Estate Planning and other areas of one’s estate with their terminal illness in mind. Even more important is how to best communicate and interact with those whose thoughts are consumed by their illness. While challenging, it is our ‘Healing Law,’ as Eileen calls it, that is ever so important when guiding clients through the planning process – especially when they don’t feel well.
Below are ways we help our clients face this dreadful knowledge and how we provide peace of mind and security for all, especially at a time when that is all that is wanted and needed.
1. We listen.
We ask about what’s going on. In our fast-paced world we know it is very important to just let the client say everything they want to say and to understand their true wishes. We sincerely want to know about each of our clients so we try to understand how they’re handling things. What their treatment plan is, etc.
2. We work with you on your better days to get things done.
There are usually a couple weeks before one has surgery or chemotherapy, and we know our clients just want to use that time to be with loved one’s, so we make timely use of this window to get the most important things completed with as little interruption as possible.
Another important reason to do this is because there is the likelihood that minds can be clouded by treatment or energy can be diminished making it difficult to touch on the tough questions.
3. We make sure we balance the concerns with what would be the best approach.
We work hard to save a lot of angst and a lot of money just by being proactive throughout one’s illness.
We make sure they have done their advanced directives and we encourage the development of a Legacy Letter, so they can leave their stories and dreams and have a record of their life for their family that will live on for generations. We also work closely with them to record wishes for funeral preparations that help the family during a time of grief and to be sure wishes are fulfilled.
4. We do our best to make you feel comfortable.
We show sincere compassion knowing that there are so many different things that cause terminal illnesses. We do everything we can to help our clients through, allowing them to move forward and live out their days in peace.
5. We often enlist your family members.
Including family members in discussions can often help our client understand and feel at peace that their future and the future of their family members will be taken care of.
6. We work hard to complete meetings during the ‘best’ time of day for you.
We find that people have their better times of the day when dealing with illness, so we coordinate meetings to work for the individual. We have even had times when going out to the home or bedside has been needed. It is some of these times that we have learned a wealth of information by just taking that step to meet them in their place. We also understand that there are times when the client might not be up to tackling all the needed items so we make the time to reconvene.
7. We enter a meeting with a clear plan.
We will always start a meeting with the important things, and provide an agenda so we can stay focused and work through the necessities as efficiently and effectively as possible. We will also work with you to learn how to access accounts and make sure the proper authorizations for transferring responsibilities have been covered.
8. We provide follow-up materials.
We provide the necessary follow-up materials and if there are items that need to be accomplished we clearly point these out in our follow-up so there is no worry about remembering every detail of each meeting. Lastly, we know this is a very difficult time and that is why we take our ‘Healing Law’ approach to comfort the worries and the stress of planning while making the process as smooth as possible. We promise to see that your wishes are successfully executed as best as possible. Call Kerlin Walsh Law at 708.448.5169.
