The Power of Ditzy & Wobbly
Secrets of Successful Agers is where I share the best of what I've learned and observed, so you can borrow the strategies that work and use them in your own life.
Are you feeling a little ditzy?
Maybe your mind isn't quite as sharp as it once was. Names take a little longer to come to you. You lose your train of thought more often. Things that once felt effortless require a little more concentration.
Or perhaps you're becoming a little wobbly.
You're still getting around just fine, but you're a little less steady on your feet. You hold the railing now. You move a little more carefully. Maybe you've had a fall—or you've simply started thinking more seriously about avoiding one.
Or perhaps you're noticing these changes in your spouse, a parent, or someone else you love. If so, you may have arrived at what I lovingly call the Ditzy & Wobbly phase.
And I have good news. In my experience as an estate planning attorney, Ditzy & Wobbly can be one of the most powerful planning periods of your life. In fact, some of the best, most thoughtful planning I have ever seen has been done by people who are Ditzy &Wobbly.
The 3 Phases of Life
In my practice, I often simplify the human experience into three phases.
Phase One is capacity. You are in charge. You are making your own decisions, managing your own affairs, and directing your own life.
Phase Two is incapacity. You can no longer make or manage some or all of those decisions yourself, and the people and plans you put in place may need to step in.
Phase Three is death. You are gone, and your estate plan governs what happens to the assets and responsibilities you leave behind.
But tucked inside the very end of Phase One is an incredibly important period. You are still capable. You are still making your own decisions. You are still living your life. Things are just getting a little harder. That is Ditzy & Wobbly.
Ditzy & Wobbly is not a crisis. It does not necessarily mean that dementia is coming. It does not mean that incapacity is imminent. You may remain Ditzy & Wobbly for many wonderful years. But it is a signal - something is changing. You don't know exactly what comes next, but you know that life probably won't remain exactly as it is forever. And successful agers pay attention to that signal.
The Future Comes Into Focus
There is a reason some of the best planning happens during this period. You have something you didn't have when you were younger: perspective. When you create an estate plan when you are younger, much of what you're planning for is hypothetical. You don't know what your finances will look like decades from now. You don't know where your children will settle or what their lives will look like. You don't know what your own health will be like or what kind of help you might eventually need.
By the time you reach Ditzy & Wobbly, the future has started to come into focus. And, importantly, you still have time to do something with that information. That combination—perspective, time and capacity—makes Ditzy & Wobbly an extraordinary planning window.
Look at Your Plan with Fresh Eyes
This is the time to pull out the estate plan you created years ago and stop asking whether it is technically complete. Instead, ask a much more important question: Will this actually work?
Perhaps your daughter has been named as your successor trustee for 20 years. She's wonderful, responsible and trustworthy. But she now lives across the country, has a demanding career. Is she still the right person to take over your financial life if you need help?
Perhaps you have five different bank and brokerage relationships accumulated over several decades. You can manage them today, but do you still need all of them? Could simplifying your financial life make things easier?
And sometimes, Ditzy & Wobbly is the right time to begin a Gentle Handoff—bringing a trusted person into your financial life before you actually need them to take over.
Other times, you may conduct this entire review and discover something wonderful: Your plan still works. The right people are in place. Your finances are organized. Your documents reflect your wishes. The life you envision is financially realistic. Wonderful! You don't need to change things merely for the sake of changing them.
Some of Your Best Planning May Happen Now
Planning during Ditzy & Wobbly can be more emotional than planning earlier in life. It requires a certain amount of honesty. You may have to acknowledge that you won't always be able to do everything you do today. You may have to talk about money, family dynamics, caregiving, dementia, independence and death. Those conversations aren't always easy.
But I have watched what happens on the other side of them. There is relief. There is power in knowing that you have looked carefully at your life as it actually exists today. You've done the best planning you can with the information you have.
Something unexpected still may happen. But a plan created today should be flexible enough to respond to circumstances you cannot completely foresee. And if you're still happily Ditzy & Wobbly a year or two from now? Take another look. Make another adjustment if you need to.
Planning at this stage of life doesn't have to be a single event. It can be a process: Review. Plan. Adjust. Then go live.
It is to do the best planning you can, put the documents away, and go enjoy your life knowing you've prepared as thoughtfully as possible for whatever comes next. That is the power of Ditzy & Wobbly.
— Jennifer Wallis
Estate Planning Attorney & Creator of Legacy Blueprint
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Estate planning laws and individual circumstances vary, and you should consult with a qualified attorney regarding your particular situation.
© 2026 Legacy Blueprint. “Ditsy and Wobbly,” the “Three Phases of Life” framework are original concepts and terminology developed by Jennifer Wallis as Creator of the Legacy Blueprint. All rights reserved.
