Five Important Documents You Might Suddenly Need

You never know when you might need a power of attorney or even a will, so you should prepare for any emergency situation. In this post, we’ll highlight five important forms you should have ready and how to easily access online legal documents.

1. Power of Attorney

A power of attorney gives someone (your “agent”) the right to make specific medical or financial decisions in your name, usually while you’re incapacitated or otherwise unavailable.

Here are just some decisions your proxy can make on your behalf:

• Managing your bank account and paying bills
• Approving experimental medical treatments
• Buying or selling stocks
• Deciding if you should remain on life support
• Making large real estate transactions
• Choosing which doctors/hospitals treat you

Of course, a power of attorney arrangement only ever exists to respect your wishes, so you can dictate exactly where they start and end. You might limit your agent from certain transactions, or place strict limits on the treatments they can sign you up for.

Make sure you choose the right type to put together — for example, a durable POA stays active even if you’re incapacitated. Similarly, a springing power of attorney only activates in specific circumstances, such as when you can’t decide for yourself.

2. Advance Directive

You need an advance directive if you’re worried about certain medical treatments. This tells the doctors working with you which procedures you’re against, including whether you’ll accept CPR and other life-saving treatments.

You can’t always communicate what you want in a crisis; you might be unconscious, or even in a coma. Putting together an advance directive might be your only way to, for example, refuse a blood transfusion.

Your hospital, doctors, and other healthcare professionals should have this document handy, so make sure you hand out ample copies.

3. Last Will and Testament

Not everyone can know when they need a last will and testament. Even if you think it’s nowhere near your time, fill one out and update it regularly. This is the only way you can guarantee your assets will always go to the right people if the worst happens.

With this in mind, here are our tips for writing a successful will:

• Choose someone you trust with your life’s assets as your executor
• List every asset, even those you don’t plan to own for long
• Use residuary clauses to handle any and all remaining assets
• Specify any guardians who’ll look after any children in your care
• Leave contingencies in case you outlive your spouse/beneficiaries
• Consider a no-contest clause that stops people from disputing the will
• Appoint someone to manage your digital accounts and passwords

4. Temporary Guardianship Form

These forms let you leave someone else in charge of your child temporarily. For example, you might have to move halfway across the country for a short-term job, or you might need time to recover from an illness.

Whatever your reason, just make sure the guardian you have in mind is a perfect fit. This should be someone you trust absolutely, and preferably somebody with experience raising children. It’s common to choose a friend or family member.

5. Loan Agreement

Arranging a loan might be your only way out of a financial hole, but that doesn’t mean rushing into a loan without the right documents. This leaves you open to being ripped off by a lender.

A loan agreement isn’t just for the lender; it also helps borrowers in the following ways:

• Prevents the lender from changing the repayment terms later
• Less ambiguity and uncertainty about what you agreed to
• Clarifies the interest rate, including whether it’s fixed or variable
• Details on grace periods, late fees, and prepayment penalties
• Outlines the specific consequences if you miss payments
• Formalizes the agreement, making you feel safer to accept it

Negotiate a fair agreement with your lender, but only sign it if you’re comfortable. For example, if they want a balloon payment at the end of your repayments, say no unless you can afford it.

How to Get These Documents Without Hassle

Document template websites make it easier to get the forms and documents you don’t even know you need on short notice. All you’ll need to do is answer questions about your situation — you could even add custom clauses.

Some wills, POA arrangements, and other major documents can take months to write, and often cost hundreds of dollars if you’re getting a lawyer’s help. Reputable template sites, meanwhile, offer them for free or at a low cost.

You can sign these documents with electronic signatures; if they need notarization, banks offer this for free.

Final Thoughts

You can’t predict which documents you’ll need tomorrow, so it’s good to always have a will and other vital forms ready. If you get them from the right site, you could have everything you need in just an hour or two.