I know we have lizards of all ages and stripes here, but we all have family, friends and loved ones (not all mutually exclusive, of course). Some of us even know folks who are facing extraordinarily tough medical decisions and life/death decisions.

When things get to that point, it’s almost too late to discuss stuff like power of attorney or health care proxy or advance directives. It’s morbid enough when you’re young and strong (because who wants to think of mortality, and heck, I’m going to live forever) but when you’re staring mortality in the face, the best thing is to have this stuff planned in advance.

Don’t wait til the last minute to do these things - you might find that the person isn’t competent to issue the statements or declare their intentions.

Talk with your parents or siblings earlier rather than later - all to reassure them that this is so that everyone knows what they want to do, and that these papers can help with caregivers making the decisions - whether it’s arranging health care, financial decisions, or moving money around to address insurance needs.

And for gods sake, consider long term insurance care. If you ever have to deal with that nightmare, having the insurance (which aint cheap) can save you even more down the road - a whole lot more.

Sorry for the PSA downer, but seeing family and friends not taking advice like this for years is biting (or will bite) them in the ass bigtime.