When a parent faces a health crisis, many adult children discover they can’t access accounts, make medical decisions, or manage finances without the right legal documents in place. Here’s what every family navigating the middle of life, with aging parents on one side and their own future on the other, should understand.

When a loved one dies: first, you grieve. Next, as their successor trustee, there is a series of obligations that you must handle to put your loved one to rest and to manage their estate.

HEMS stands for health, education, maintenance, or support and is frequently included in trust agreements to guide a trustee on the types of distributions they may make to a trust beneficiary.