Get ahead of your Great Fire

Once upon a Monday, at a bakery in Pudding Lane, a small fire broke out. By Thursday, most of old London had burned down.

The 1666 Great Fire of London was a huge disaster. It destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 churches, the original St. Paul’s Cathedral as well as caused countless injuries and immense human suffering.

Certain things can aid a growing fire, like dryness, wooden constructions, and windiness, but the most substantial ingredients that went into that great fire in September were inaction and hesitation.

Whose inaction and hesitation, specifically?

(Spoiler alert) it was Sir Thomas Bloodworth, the Lord Mayor of London, who drastically delayed firefighters from creating the firebreaks necessary to stop its spread.

Bloodworth knew the potential risks and consequences, but he was unwilling to commit to the large-scale demolition required for the firebreaks. He did eventually, but by then the wind had fanned the flames into a huge firestorm too large to be contained by any firebreaks.

If you’ve read this far, you probably know that I’m about to use the Great Fire as a metaphor to describe that thing that you’re likely ignoring. For our purposes today, we’ll talk about one in particular – estate planning.

According to a survey done by Merrill/ Age Wave, only 41% of Americans over 55 have end-of-life health directives; only 33% of Americans over 55 have a durable power of attorney; and only 18% of Americans over 55 have a will, advance health care directive, and durable power of attorney.

When you are young and/or healthy, estate planning may not seem like a priority. But things can and often do happen quickly. And those things can grow too big, too fast and before you know it, it might be too late to avoid a disaster.

Get ahead of your Great Fire. Get your estate in order, preserve your voice and plan, and get a team in place. It’s not fun or easy, but don’t be a Bloodworth — commit to the work and plan for your best interest.

At Preferred Care at Home, our goal is to help support those whose needs change as they age. We can help connect you to planners, attorneys, and other senior advocates, and should you need a little (or a lot) of assistance to maintain your independence in your home, we can help with that as well.

Reach out to a local Preferred Care at Home expert for a free consultation today.