Comedian Sarah Silverman announced today (read her facebook post here) that she’s spent the last week in the hospital in intensive care after going to her doctor about a sore throat. It turns out she had a potentially life threatening bacterial infection. Her medical team knocked her out during the many days of treatment, so she was completely, and suddenly without warning, out of commission. She calls herself “insanely lucky” to be alive.
Preparing for short term disability isn’t something most people think about, but it’s immensely important. If you find yourself unexpectedly out of commission like Silverman did, without advance planning documents like HIPAA releases and medical and durable powers of attorney, your friends and family might have a really difficult time getting information about your condition, and on the much worse end of the spectrum, you might find that your rent or mortgage check didn’t get turned in and you now have either big late fees or, even worse, an eviction notice to deal with.
Just listen to the morning traffic report and its long list of accidents and you’ll know that many people are likely finding themselves in this vulnerable position. You, however, can take care of this right now while you’re thinking about. Call your local friendly lawyer and ask about getting your death and disability planning done now.