I have taken too long to thank Dad for very practical help that he gave me to deal with his stroke and what followed: planning. Many years ago, he executed a durable power of attorney, naming me his attorney-in-fact. He also gave me a list of institutions where he had financial accounts, insurance policies, etc. These tools, especially the POA, have been immeasurably helpful. Of course it has been a challenge to drop into his affairs and get up to speed on the bills, accounts, and all, but if I hadn't known where to look and then had the legal authority to take action, it would have been so very much harder.
The other key tool has been his email account. I lucked into access to this one: I saw him entering his code to unlock his phone at the hospital, and I used the phone to get into the email.*
Which is to say, if you are an adult, please take the time to make some emergency plans. Find that person you can count on and make sure that they have the legal authority and key information to help you out if things go sideways in a hurry.
* In fairness to Dad, he also provided me a vast list of account passwords, including his email. Unfortunately, the code that he used to disguise the passwords, while perfectly transparent to him, has stumped me. So when you do give that information to a trusted someone, make sure that you aren't _too_ much cleverer than they are.
