Living and Dying (on our terms)         

In early May my husband and I decided to bite the bullet and get our old (and growing dingier by the day) popcorn ceilings replaced with knockdown. Doing that meant we needed to move our furniture out of the house.  All that work caused us to look at the stuff we have and consider what we should keep and what we should dispose of.  We’re almost back to normal with the house – just a few small things left and it will be ready for the next decade.

Refreshing the house reminded us that we also need to refresh our wills. We want to be sure we document how we want (and don’t want) to live out our final years, as well as how we want to die. Our will, and our personal directive are the legal tools required to ensure that our Executor, Personal Directive Agent and Power of Attorney have what they need to support our decisions.

Our first life and death plan took us far longer to get started on than it did to ‘do’ it.  Like others, we allowed other diversions to keep us from taking the pragmatic steps in estate planning.  Somehow, this time it seems more important.  In the last couple of years, we have seen the loss of many family members and friends which along with the grief, has reinforced the knowing that stress and sadness is greater when loved ones don’t know what our wishes are. 

It will be done much more quickly because we know most of our prior work is still good, and we know how liberating it is to have our wishes communicated.  

Looking for some help thinking about your wishes, planning and how to share that with your agents?  Check out Exit Savvy’s blogs, tools and services:  www.exitsavvy.com