How to be financially ready for a serious illness SECTIONS Share Synopsis If you are over 40 and have a family history of such illnesses, you need to prepare a financial plan on priority. In the third part of this new series on special situations, ET Wealth explains how to prepare yourself and your family for a critical illness, chronic or terminal. iStock While it may be impossible to prevent the emotional trauma, being financially prepared can help the family. When someone is diagnosed with a critical illness, be it cancer, a disease related to kidney, liver or heart, or even Covid-19 in the current scenario, the suffering is not limited to a single person. The entire family is affected in more ways than one, the immediate shock of affliction followed by the prospect of dealing with it, emotionally, physically and financially. The illness triggers a search for the right treatment in the best institution and a scramble to arrange for funds as the full scope of medical costs begins to unfold. Besides, the temporary or permanent loss of job that it entails leads to a massive financial burden on the family. While it may be impossible to prevent the emotional trauma, being financially prepared can help the family deal with at least one aspect.