i need some advice [View all]

[shireen]

I'm turning 50 this year … I'm from the tail end of the boomer age range so I qualify to be here.

I'm single, live alone, no kids, no family in this country, and with chronic illness that will get worse with time. Lately, I've been worrying about the 'what if's' that could happen and the legal & logistical mess I could leave behind. I know I need to do stuff like living wills, medical directives, etc.. But I also want to minimize the amount of work that friends would have to do, medical decisions, stuff like selling the house, paying off debts, etc.

Basically, I want to minimize the amount of work that my friends would have to deal with if I were to die. Are these the kinds of things an estate planning lawyer would handle? Could you help me put together a comprehensive checklist of things I should do?

I'm not too knowledgeable about this legal stuff so any tips would be much appreciated! If I knew the specific questions to ask, I could do the research.

Thanks!