By Joan E. Lisante
Few images are as scary as thinking of yourself as incapacitated. We expect bodies and minds to last much longer than that extended warranty on the Chevy Blazer. When they let us down, we cling to former selves. Notice all the 40-year-old pictures that accompany obituary columns: people in their prime, minus hearing aids and silver hair.
Still, consider the possibility that in your absence (in either mind or body), someone else may have to take over. Getting mowed down by a Metrobus WITHOUT someone waiting in the wings can wreak havoc with your personal and financial life.
Ms. Lisante is a Fairfax County, Va., attorney who writes frequently about legal and consumer issues.
