Back in the fifties, there was a comedian named Sam Levinson. He went to an "old folks home" (not p.c. but what we called them in the fifties). One of the attendants suggested he go ask Mr. Smith what he was doing. Mr. Smith was a wrinkled old man sitting in a chair in the corner with a large black Bible in his lap. Mr. Levinson approached Mr. Smith and asked him what he was doing. Mr. Smith replied, "I'm cramming for my finals".
No matter how young or old we are, we all must at some time face our mortality. Let's be real...none of us make it out of this world alive. Typically, many people put this off until it is no longer a problem and leave it to those they leave behind. Many will choose to make things easier on our loved ones and make some arrangements in advance.
Recently, I decided it was time to care of some of the loose ends of my life and began to investigate my options. I just didn't want to leave it up to my two sons to try to figure out what my preferences. If you are at a point in your life where you are beginning to think it's time to get a few things in order, the following list may be of help to you. Here are some of the things I've taken care of recently:
- Long Term Care - In the event that you should become ill and unable to care for yourself, consider purchasing a long term care policy that will allow you to receive care in your home. Many policies provide for a person to be assigned to assess the level of care that you will receive and make sure you are receiving the level of care that is being paid for by the policy.
- Final Arrangements - Everyone has personal preferences whether it is cremation or burial. I chose to make my final arrangements with a local, family mortuary. I've chosen the container that I will be placed in for cremation and the container my ashes will be placed in after cremation. I will be writing instructions for my sons and best friend so they will know what I would like them to do with my ashes.. I've provided the mortuary with contact information for my church and pastor who will perform my memorial service.
- Trust & Durable Power of Attorney - This is a critical piece in taking care of your loved ones. It takes the guessing out of what to do with your personal property and assets. I found an excellent attorney who specializes in trusts. She asked me lots of questions and together we prepared a document that articulates my wishes for how and when and to whom my estate is to be distributed. We also examined options for extraordinary measures for prolonging my life and how much or how little I felt were appropriate. We also identified charities that I want to receive a portion of my estate.
- Trustee - Every trust must have a trustee. Until my demise or incapacity, I will be the trustee. After that, I have chosen to use a local, privately-owned bank as my institutional trustee. This will save any of my loved ones from potential discomfort in working out money issues among themselves. Also, in the case of incapacity, the bank will step in and pay my bills.
- Memorial Service - This is also a very personal thing. If you choose to have a service it's nice for your family to know what is special to you. The final piece of my "finals" that I am working on is my memorial service. This is a letter to my church with some of my favorite scriptures, songs and thoughts. I have an idea of what I would like and who I'd like to have participate in the service. The primary focus in writing this letter is to assure that my friends and family to be comforted and have the knowledge that I have gone to a better place, having made the decision to receive Christ many years ago. After the service, I am hoping everyone will stay for refreshments and tell silly stories about the wonderful times we shared. Then...they can move on, getting back to normal life on earth until we meet again.
All of this information is stored in my office in a BIG RED BOOK. My sons and my best friend know that if they ever need to know anything, they just need to look for the BIG RED BOOK. It has all they information they will need to take care of everything.
As you can see, I've given all of this some thought. I hope that in reading this you are encouraged to take care of cramming for your finals and will consider putting together your own BIG RED BOOK.
Marlene Bridges, REALTOR®
Certified Residential Specialist®
Seniors Real Estate Specialist®
www.LiveTheCaliforniaDream.com
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It's actually a file on my pc...started collecting living wills and trying to pick out the best suited for me....I get all confused....all I know is in the end...cremate and throw.
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