You’re in a coma: What are the financial consequences?

It could never happen to you.

Are you sure?

A friend of mine had a freak accident and is in a deep coma. The doctors don’t know what his future holds. Family and friends are shocked, saddened, and fearful. His wife is in denial.

Beyond the emotional devastation, there are questions and potentially severe financial repercussions to consider.

Put yourself in his flimsy hospital slippers and read on.

If he dies

Does he have a will? If not, it will take a lot of time, work, and money for his wife to take care of his estate. She’ll have to deal with courts, lawyers, family, friends, business associates, and creditors.

If he doesn’t die

Did he sign an advance directive to say what he wants his family to do in this type of situation? Will they decide to “pull the plug” — or will he continue to live in a suspended existence? Will he ever awake from the coma?

Insurance

Does he have health insurance to cover the expensive hospital, doctor, and other medical bills? Major unexpected medical expenses often lead to bankruptcy.

Does he have long-term care insurance? You might think that it only pays for a nursing home at the end of the line — which, in our usual state of denial, is a place we will never inhabit.

However, if he wakes up and has significant brain damage, he will need extensive therapy from outside providers, perhaps for the rest of his life. Long-term care insurance may help pay those bills.

Think about getting a policy now if you don’t already have coverage. Don’t delay, because generally the older you are when you apply, the higher the premium.

Household finances

His wife works and can’t give up her job to stay home and tend to his needs. Especially since they just lost his income. This reduction in income will have a major affect on their household budget. Will she have to delay her retirement indefinitely?

You know how every personal finance expert tells you that you should have an emergency fund? Well, guess what. This. Is. An. Emergency. His wife may need to exhaust those funds for everything from taking extra time off work to paying for parking at the hospital.

Plan for the unimaginable

It’s wise for you to take some basic steps to address end-of-life and incapacity issues.

There’s plenty of information you can find online about all these topics, but please consult an attorney.

Sign a will, an advance directive, a living will, a general durable power of attorney, and a health care power of attorney.

Make sure the people you care about take care of their paperwork and let you know what their preferences are.

The cold hard truth

My friend surely did not intend to leave such a mess for his family that will affect all of them forever.

I hope you don’t think I am being callous by calling out the financial side of a serious personal drama.

But most of us live in a bubble of protective denial, thinking that disasters only strike other people.

So don’t add economic destruction to the emotional devastation of such a life trauma.

Even if it seems like something that will never happen to you, or to someone you love.

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