Author’s note: I originally posted this in 2013, but like medical advocacy, this is important enough that I will be reposting it monthly to remind us all that we need to have all our physical affairs – medical, legal, end-of-life, and digital – in order now.

Tomorrow is promised to no one. It’s hard enough to deal with loss (in the case of dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease, there are two losses to deal with) without having the process made as easy as possible by those we’ve lost.

This is one of the kindest acts we can do for those we leave behind who have to wrap up our physical lives in the face of grief and loss. Not doing this just makes things harder than they need to be.

I urge everyone today to stop and take care of these things (be sure to update them as things change) as an act of love and kindness.

This post by Kay Bransford, on her Dealing With Dementia blog, is important enough that I want to share it here, as well as the reminder she wrote today (January 21, 2014) for all of us who are – or may be in the future – caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementias.

We live in a digital age and we work very hard to protect ourselves online from things like identity theft and access to our financial and personal data.

However, it is important to make sure that we give access to our POA’s in case something happens to us and it is important that we have this information for our loved ones with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia whom we are caring for and, if not already, will be entrusted to handle their legal, medical, and financial affairs for them.

So, Kay’s advice is timely for all of us.