Receiving a terminal diagnosis is incredibly hard, but getting your legal paperwork in order can bring huge peace of mind. In this quick video, Missouri elder law attorney Rachel Fortenberry breaks down the three basic things you need to set up immediately to protect your family and make things easier for them later.

The 3 Things You Need Right Now:

1. A Will (The Safety Net): A will doesn't actually keep your things out of probate court—it's just a set of instructions for the court. You still need one just in case, but it shouldn't be your only plan.

2. Beneficiary Designations (The Quick Fix): This means naming a backup person on your bank accounts, investments, and car titles. It tells everyone exactly who gets your assets after you pass away, entirely bypassing court.

3. Financial Power of Attorney (The Most Important One): This lets a trusted person step in and handle your money or sign paperwork for you if you're too sick to get out of bed. It ensures your bills get paid and your family stays protected without a court fight.

If you are in Missouri, don't wait. Talk to a professional to get these simple safeguards in place today.

Video Transcript:

"So, if you or a loved one have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, here's three things that you need to have in place.

I'm Rachel Fortenberry, and I'm an elder law attorney in Missouri.

So, the first thing, and actually the least important thing that you need out of all three is a will. So a will does nothing to avoid probate, it's a set of instructions for probate, but you still need to have it in place, just in case, just in case something happens, just in case something has to go to probate. You need to have it in place.

Second, what you need to have is your beneficiary designations. So, what I mean by that is every account that you have can tell the bank, you can tell your investments, you can tell the state with your car, tell everyone who you want to have your stuff after you pass.

And third, the most important thing that you need to have is a financial power of attorney, so that allows someone to step into your shoes, act on your behalf, so that if you're not feeling like you can get out of bed, that you can have somebody else go and do the things that you need to make sure that your stuff avoids probate and your family is protected.

So you need to go and talk to someone right now about getting those things in place."

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only and does not count as official legal advice.