I am about to have my eightieth birthday this summer, and I have just had a close friend for sixty-one years die, so on both counts I am aware of what seniors need to do both for our own sakes and for the sake of those we leave behind when we die, as we all will at some point. And we need to do it while we are thinking clearly. The first, and most obvious, thing that we need is a will. You do not want to have to figure that out, choose and get a lawyer, and write it while you are sick and dying. For one thing, for many of us, what’s involved is assembling legal documents, listing assets and designating individuals you trust to carry out your wishes. You need to be physically able and thinking clearly when you do that. You’ll also need to appoint an executor or executrix you trust and who has, verbally or in writing, agreed to fulfill that role. Getting that informed agreement ahead of time is really important because it’s a fair amount of work, and executors can refuse to do it. You also need to name your beneficiaries with full names of people or organizations.
You should also think about setting up medical representation agreements to manage care if you can’t manage it yourself, preferably with a trusted representative who will act on your behalf if you can’t. As I write this, I’m aware that I haven’t done that yet, and I need to; I’m including the links [click on these] to My Voice, Nidus, and Prep School to help you with this; they will connect you to very useful information on expressing your wishes. And you also need to choose a lawyer or notary public you can trust—it’s not strictly required, but it does ensure that your will is legally sound. I wrote my will using online resources, but I had a lawyer go over it, and she suggested some fairly significant changes.
And here are some things that seniors often don’t think about even if they have a will. Have you appointed someone with enduring power of attorney to make financial and health decisions for you if you become incapacitated? Do you have a letter of instruction to whomever is your executor or executrix telling him or her where to find a list of your banking accounts, assets, investments and debts, your credit cards, mortgages or loans, and sets of your keys and a list of your passwords? If you put all of that into a secure and accessible place, you can tell the two witnesses to your will and your executor or executrix where that secure place is. You should also include a written version of your personal information—your full legal name, date and place of birth, your citizenship and SIN. Another point to consider is whether you have listed your personal wishes. Also do you have pets, and if so, have you made arrangements for those pets if you are not there to look after them? And finally, if you care about this, have you detailed your wishes for your burial, cremation or memorial? All that information needs to be accessible to people you trust.
All of this you should review regularly and update whenever a significant life change occurs. For example, for me, the friend who just died can no longer be in my will or be a witness to it, so writing this for all of you, is a reminder to me to update my will and my instructions. This may seem like a grim subject, but isn’t really; it’s sensible, realistic and necessary. It gives you some real control over the end of your life and what you will leave when you go.
