When do you need your estate plan to “go to work” for you? While you may think the right answer is “after I die,” the actual answer is “if I lose the ability to manage my own affairs.”

That means having the right kind of Durable Power of Attorney for Finance drafted and signed. A June 2020 Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies survey found that only 28% of retirees have a financial power of attorney. And many people don’t understand that there are two types of these advance directives; each has very different purposes.

Knowing how both types work is critically important in this COVID-19 environment, just in case you contract coronavirus.

2 Types of Durable Power of Attorney for Finance

A Durable Power of Attorney for Finance can be either “springing” or “immediate.”

“Durable” refers to the fact that this Power of Attorney will endure after you have lost mental or physical capacities, whether temporary or permanent. It lists when the powers would be granted to the person of your choosing and the powers end at your death.

An “immediate” Durable Power of Attorney for Finance is effective immediately after you sign the document. But a “springing” Durable Power of Attorney for Finance means two physicians must first examine you and declare that you cannot manage independently anymore.

An impairment requiring a Durable Power of Attorney for Finance can happen quickly and possibly include you and your spouse at the same time.

In other words, “springing” means the person you’ve chosen and named in the document to act on your behalf (known as your agent) can’t use the powers unless the doctors’ letters are acquired first.

So, in order to start paying your bills, your agent must have those two physicians’ letters; he or she doesn’t automatically have the authority to ask for them.

Why You Might Want a ‘Springing’ Version

You might want your Durable Power of Attorney for Finance to be a springing document because you fear that otherwise your agent might go to the bank and add his or her name to your account without your permission or awareness.

Some people name their spouse as the immediate agent; then successor agents would have to get doctors’ letters.

When barriers such as doctors’ letters are required before the person you chose can serve you, ask your attorney for guidance.

That’s because an impairment requiring a Durable Power of Attorney for Finance can happen devastatingly quickly and possibly include you and your spouse at the same time. You might both contract COVID-19, for instance, or be in a car accident together.

Naming the Right Agent for You

It’s also essential that the person you’ve named in your Durable Power of Attorney for Finance is the right one to do the job for you.

Consider this: What if you were to give your checkbook to your chosen agent for two billing cycles, with no instruction other than to get the bills paid on time? If you’d feel any hesitation about this, you may have selected the wrong person.

If you recover your capacity, your agent has a duty to turn everything back over to you when you ask. If you’re worried that your agent wouldn’t want to give you back your own power, you’ve chosen the wrong person.

The powers granted by a typical Durable Power of Attorney for Finance are often broad and sweeping. They allow for selling and buying assets; managing your debt, car and Social Security payments, filing your tax returns and handling any assets not named in a trust you may have, such as your Individual Retirement Account.

It is likely that the executor of your will, your trustee and Durable Power of Attorney for Finance agent are the same person or people. They will be responsible for accounting for every single penny you have, knowing where everything you own is and making sure your funds are used as efficiently as possible for your benefit first.

Remember: your advance directive documents are only as good as the people who implement them. Often, family members chosen to do this work have never done it before and may not have the time or energy.

What Your Durable Power of Attorney Agent Needs

One last tip: It’s not enough to complete your Durable Power of Attorney for Finance document and have it in a file somewhere. Make sure anyone named knows they’ll have the job if needed. They must know where to find this and all other important financial documents, where you bank and invest and have information about all your assets and liabilities.

They should also possess detailed information about how you would want things done if you are alive, but unable to manage on your own.

In short, you want your selected person to be ready to “go to work” the moment you need that.

If you need to see your doctor these days, there’s a good chance you’ll be offered a telemedicine visit. That means you’ll “meet” with your physician either through a video chat or a phone call. And even after the COVID-19 pandemic fades, experts predict, telemedicine — especially video visits — will be commonplace.

Research shows that for appropriate diagnoses and situations, telemedicine can be comparable, and sometimes more effective, than in-person care. And Medicare has recently relaxed its rules to more easily allow people 65 and older to use telemedicine. More than 20% of people over 70 have had a telehealth appointment during the pandemic, according to a survey by NORC at the University of Chicago.

Here are nine ways to help ensure a telemedicine appointment is as useful as it can be:

Before Your Telemedicine Visit

It will help to be prepared before the virtual visit begins.

1. List your symptoms, medicines and questions. “Be ready with as much detail about your current condition as possible,” says Dr. Joe Kvedar, president of the American Telemedicine Association and a dermatologist in Boston.

Phones and tablets actually tend to work better than computers for video visits.

For example, Kvedar advises his patients to take pictures of any rashes or moles because it’s hard to see detail on video. Try to send your doctor’s office any pictures ahead of time. And write down all your symptoms so you don’t forget any during the telemedicine visit.

Having a written list of your medications, vitamins and supplements at hand will come in handy when your doctor asks what you’re taking, too. This information can also prevent you from getting prescribed something that could run afoul of your current medicine.

And write down any questions you’ll want the doctor to answer so you’ll finish the visit knowing that any concerns have been addressed.

2. Take your vital signs. Think about what normally happens at the doctor’s office and replicate things at home as best as you can. Take your temperature, measure your pulse while you are relaxed and get on a scale so you can tell your physician your weight.

To take your pulse, place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery, on the thumb side of your wrist. When you feel your pulse, count the number of beats in 15 seconds. Then, multiply this number by four to calculate your beats per minute.

“If you have a glucometer, make sure you have those readings. If you have a blood pressure cuff, make sure you have those readings. If you have other things that your doctor tracks with you to monitor your disease, have that information on hand,” recommends Kvedar.

You might be able to check your blood oxygen level and your heart rate — something very important for coronavirus — if you have a fingertip gadget called a pulse oximeter. They typically sell for $20 to $50.

3. Have your latest medical records nearby. You may have received medical care at different places, such as an urgent care facility as well as your doctor’s office. If so, you’ll want to have a copy of labs and studies with you during the telemedicine visit.

Then, if your doctor needs one of your reports,  you can easily share it. This way, you’ll save time and money from unnecessarily repeating tests.

4. Set up the technology you’ll need. Test the telemedicine service on your mobile device or computer before your visit. Some applications work best on specific browsers (for example Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Explorer). Ask the doctor’s office which browser works best.

If you will be using a computer, try to sit next to the wifi router for the strongest internet connection. Phones and tablets actually tend to work better than computers for video visits, though.

But should you plan to do the visit with an older smartphone, restart it to improve the memory speed and close all the other apps to make your device faster.

During Your Telemedicine Visit

If possible, log on the day before the telemedicine appointment begins to be sure technology is working properly. And don’t be tempted to multitask during your visit. Trying to do this while you’re at the store or driving is likely to prevent you from getting the best care.

5. Improve your picture and audio quality. You and your doctor need to establish a personal connection on video. That’s tricky if you can’t see each other well.

Go to a quiet, well-lit place away from people who don’t need to be with you during the visit. Turn off the radio, TV or any noisy appliance.

You don’t need professional studio lighting, but good lighting improves the quality of the visit, including your doctor’s ability to do a complete assessment. Don’t place your camera facing a light source, window or doorway. Backlighting makes it hard to see your face.

Is the camera right below your chin? Almost every doctor who does telemedicine has a story of a visit seeing mostly the patient’s forehead or a ceiling fan. Stably prop up the device to avoid excessive shaking  and keep your whole face in view.

“I would use telehealth for the majority of my mom’s visits, if I can.”

If there is an echo, use headphones, turn down the volume on your speakers and move the microphone away from the speakers. In general, wired headphones have less interference than wireless headphones.

6. If you’ll be doing the telemedicine visit as a caregiver for someone, be sure that person is nearby. Even if you’re the one doing most of the talking, the doctor will need to at least eyeball the patient.

Diana Isabel Tibbs cares for her 79-year-old mother, Caroline Chacon, who has had multiple brain surgeries and dementia. Recently, her mother had persistent dizziness, so they consulted a new neurosurgeon by video chat. The virtual exam was surprisingly comprehensive.

“They checked her temperature and the back of her head where the incision was made. They had her do some tests with her arms to see how her balance was. They had her do the one where she closed her eyes and had to touch her nose, “says Tibbs. “And then they had this really large screen where they were able to pull up…her CAT scan, and we talked about that.”

Chacon has since had several telehealth visits in just a few weeks. “We saw a neurosurgeon, and she got fitted for another hearing aid,” says Tibbs. “I would use telehealth for the majority of my mom’s visits, if I can.”

7. Expect for some possible troubleshooting. Due to heavy use these days, many health providers’ telemedicine systems are at capacity or overloaded. If your call is glitchy or completely drops, ask your doctor if you can use something simpler, like FaceTime or WhatsApp. Sometimes switching devices or video conferencing platforms can keep a visit from being a flop.

If all else fails, the telephone is okay, but you may have to unblock unidentified callers.

After the Telemedicine Visit

There are a couple of things you’ll want to do when the telemedicine appointment concludes.

8. When the appointment ends, ask for a summary. That can clarify the important details of the visit. If the doctor’s office forgets to provide a summary, send the office a message recapping what you understood and ask if you got it all right.

9. Give feedback to the doctor’s office or your health insurer. Note anything that went well or poorly. That can help make your future telemedicine appointments even better.

Chances are, the coronavirus has upped your worries about your personal finances. And if you’re nearing, or in, retirement, the pandemic-triggered stock market plunge may be making you especially upset. So, my two Friends Talk Money podcast co-hosts and I just released a new episode specifically dealing with money advice for the pandemic.

Below are highlights from the episode. You can listen to the 35-minute podcast below or from anywhere you like to stream podcasts.

My co-host Terry Savage, a syndicated personal finance writer and author, offered a few tips about the 80 million stimulus checks the U.S. government is sending out. “You will get a letter in the mail from the government telling you how, where and when your stimulus payment is being sent,” Savage said. “And you can reach out and tell them if there’s a mistake.”

Those Stimulus Checks

Savage suggests visiting the Internal Revenue Service’s new Get My Payment site to check on the status of your stimulus money. You may need your 2019 federal income tax return (if you filed it; the deadline is July 15, 2020) and your 2018 federal income tax return.

Her depressing warning: “Unfortunately, there will be a lot of problems” with the stimulus-payment system, since it’s new, untested and in huge demand.

The stimulus checks are not taxable, Savage noted, and won’t affect eligibility for federal benefits.

Savage had important information specifically for parents: “If you have children under seventeen who are dependents on your tax return, you get an extra five hundred dollars in your stimulus check. But if your child is eighteen or older, you don’t.”

Retirement Planning in the Pandemic

Krueger, a small-investor advocate and creator of the Wealthramp site for finding a financial planner, offered an empathetic voice about retirement planning during the pandemic. “I don’t know anyone whose retirement plans are not impacted,” she said.

Krueger noted, as I wrote in my Next Avenue piece “3 Ways the COVID-19 Stimulus Law May Help Your Financial Problems,” that the recent CARES Act eases the rules for 401(k) withdrawals and loans before retirement.

But, she said: “Try as much as you can to avoid taking money out of tax-privileged retirement accounts to get through this time,” adding: “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

Her reasoning? You’ll owe taxes on money you withdraw, plus you’ll miss out on potential earnings on what your 401(k) money would have earned if you hadn’t taken it out.

And Krueger also advised not selling any stocks or equity mutual funds solely because the market has dropped so much in 2020. “It’s a disaster to sell stocks at their lowest point,” she said.

The 4% Rule and Retirement Withdrawals

I noted the new analysis by retirement analyst Wade Pfau, a professor at The American College of Financial Services, on how the pandemic has changed his thinking about what’s known as “the 4% rule.” Traditionally, financial advisers have often recommended retirees taking out about 4% of their portfolio a year to make their money last their lifetimes. But due to today’s low interest rates and the stock market drop, he is now using 2.4% as his benchmark for retirees who take “moderate” investment risks.

Savage said Pfau’s view “makes perfect sense to me.” But Krueger scoffed at the withdrawal rule, saying “people are best served when they realistically assess what they need.”