Also consider what happens if someone is incapacitated but not dead. Getting into email, bank, etc. is one thing, but what if you own property with someone who is suddenly and irreversibly brain damaged? I strongly recommend filing a lasting power of attorney in advance if your risk of this is non-negligible. My mother is living a nightmare due to it right now as she assumed being someone's spouse would let you take responsibility for an incapacitated spouse.. wrong!
My father had a stroke so debilitating that he lost language entirely, lives in a brain care unit 24/7, and has zero chance of regaining even the most basic idea of a life. But by not being biologically "dead" he retains a lot of legal protections that don't really suit his situation and my mother is unable to sell her home without the permission of the Court of Protection. We filed for said permission 14 months ago.. and, you can guess the rest. With a lasting power of attorney, she'd have been able to organise her life properly within weeks.
My father had a stroke so debilitating that he lost language entirely, lives in a brain care unit 24/7, and has zero chance of regaining even the most basic idea of a life. But by not being biologically "dead" he retains a lot of legal protections that don't really suit his situation and my mother is unable to sell her home without the permission of the Court of Protection. We filed for said permission 14 months ago.. and, you can guess the rest. With a lasting power of attorney, she'd have been able to organise her life properly within weeks.