REPOST: Even An Estate Planner Can Learn A Lesson From A Car Accident

“Seeking professional help—whether medical, legal, financial, or otherwise—as soon as possible is always smart. Unfortunately our first instinct is to avoid getting help,” writes Mark Eghrari, an estate planner who survived a car accident that left him incapacitated for months. He expounds on this realization in the following Forbes article:

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I was driving down the road with the top down on a beautiful summer evening. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was awesome, my life was great…

… and then a Jeep slammed into my driver’s side door.

It could have been worse, though. Had the other vehicle been traveling a few miles per hour faster, or had my car been less well designed to handle impacts, the Jeep could have climbed up my door and I could have had a front wheel in my lap.

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So by the time emergency workers arrived I had (basically) come to my senses. They wanted to send me to the hospital. I didn’t want to go. I assumed I was okay – a little shook up, sure, but okay. Plus I figured not going to the hospital would save time and avoid hassle.

I was wrong.

As often happens in life, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I didn’t know I would be basically incapacitated for a few months. I didn’t know I would continue to feel constant pain in my left arm and experience numbness in my left hand.

I didn’t know I had a herniated disk or pinched nerve. (It’s still unclear which.) I didn’t know that while physical therapy has definitely helped, my physicians recommend drilling through the front of my neck to fix the problem. (An option I have yet to take.)

What have I learned?

Seeking professional help – whether medical, legal, financial, or otherwise – as soon as possible is always smart. Unfortunately our first instinct is to avoid getting help, whether because of time or money… or an assumption that things will work themselves out. Sometimes things will work themselves out – but what if you don’t know what you don’t know?

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More importantly, I’ve been reminded that life is uncertain. We tend to think we’re promised tomorrow. We tend to think we can put things off. We tend to think that waiting another day or week or month won’t matter.

And then, without warning, it’s too late – and all that’s left are regrets.

Maybe you’ve thought about but haven’t gotten around to buying sufficient life insurance to ensure your loved ones will be taken care of. Maybe you’ve thought about but haven’t gotten around to planning for your retirement — and acting on those plans.

Maybe you’ve remarried but haven’t gotten around to changing your estate plan to ensure your children from a previous marriage will be taken care of. Maybe you haven’t created a living will or healthcare power of attorney to ensure your wishes will be carried out if you’re incapacitated.

Or maybe you haven’t reconnected with an old friend; you think about it but keep putting it off. Maybe you haven’t called your brother in months; you think about it but don’t pick up the phone. Maybe you haven’t visited your parents in months; you keep promising… but promising is all you do.

We aren’t promised tomorrow. We aren’t even promised later today. But we are promised right now.

You don’t know what you don’t know… but you do know what you can do right now.

Go do it.

You will always be glad you did.

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