Hitting “Pause” to Protect Your Family & Friends From COVID-19

There are times in life when something happens that causes us to hit the “PAUSE” button. Sometimes, it is something amazingly good like a wedding proposal or the birth of your child.  Other times, it is triggered by a death in the family, the news that a good friend has cancer, or some national or international catastrophe.

All of a sudden, the big picture of life takes center stage. For a brief moment, normal life ceases. All the kids’ soccer games, the commute to work, the laundry and grocery shopping have to wait while we accommodate the crisis.

Today we are involved in a worldwide effort to protect our fellow humans from Covid-19. Schools are closed, public places shut down, and we are told to “hunker down” from work and regular life. We have hit the “PAUSE” button.

This provides us with a few moments to remember that list of all those things that we were going to do “if we ever had the time.” Perhaps now we can make that call to our old friend we haven’t talked with in several months. Or maybe we can write that letter to Aunt Mary, telling her how much she meant to us when we were just kids.

Now may also be a good time to get our paperwork in order. When was the last time we cleaned up that drawer where we store our deeds, birth certificates, and important memorabilia?  Are our wills up to date? Is our family protected if something should happen to us?  Do our insurance policies and 401-Ks properly list our heirs? Would the kids have trouble closing out our accounts?

And while we are in the “PAUSE” mode, we need to keep in contact with those we love, especially the elderly and frail. Even though we might think that we are bothering them too much, more communication is better than less communication at this time. And the fact that we care will be well received even if not spoken at the time.

We hope that the Covid-19 virus passes quickly. May its impact avoid you and your family and friends.

The attorneys and staff at CQR&H