IMPERIAL, Pa. — It’s that time of the year when we start cleaning out our cabinets, closets, drawers and basements to ready ourselves for the upcoming holidays. Doesn’t it always make you feel good once you’ve accomplished this and organized everything again?

Well, your financial housekeeping should be viewed in exactly the same way. The end of the year is a good time to take a look at your life insurance policies, annuities, investments, etc., and make sure of a few things:

• Are your investments still what you need, or has your financial picture changed?

• Do you have enough life insurance to ensure that your family will not face financial hardship should you pass away?

• Did you marry, divorce, have a baby, or lose a parent or spouse this past year? If so, did you check your beneficiary designations to make certain they are up-to-date?

We also field a lot of questions at the Home Office regarding Power-of-Attorney designations, and what they can and cannot do. First of all, I urge anyone who is considering granting a Power-of-Attorney designation to seek legal advice on this matter; these designations can be either very specific or very general. Yes, there are a lot of forms that you can download from various web sites that are valid, legitimate Power-of­Attorney appointments, but it is imperative that you understand exactly what powers you are relinquishing, when you are relinquishing them and whether or not you can take back those appointments. Generally, all Power-of-Attorney appointments end upon the death of the principal.

There are a few other things you may wish to consider while you are getting your financial house in order. For example, do you have a medical directive? My personal opinion is that everyone, no matter their age, should have a medical directive which records the medical treatments you wish to have or not have should you become unable to express your wishes. This avoids putting your spouse, children and other family members in a position of guessing what you would like done when you can no longer speak for yourself. A medical directive records your wishes regarding various types of medical treatment such as resuscitation and artificial feedings. You can also appoint a proxy, someone to make medical decisions on your behalf should you become unable to make them on your own. A medical directive can also allow you to record your wishes regarding donating your organs for transplantation.

There is plenty of information on the Internet regarding these directives, but you should certainly request legal advice if you don’t understand the directive or have any questions about it. Generally, a copy of the directive is given to the person you name as proxy, to your primary care physician and to a family member who is not listed as the proxy.

As the daughter of someone who faced this type of situation, I thanked my mother daily for having the foresight to have one of these when she was no longer able to speak for herself. Since not one of us knows what tomorrow will bring, please consider this today for yourself and for your loved ones.