I often find myself starting new threads in reactions to life events or paradigm shifts for a reason or another, going from lessons learned of sort. As my family is dealing with the unexpected loss of a member, it makes me realise that our prepper mindset focuses much of living than for our inevitable death (or that of a loved one). Though not a pleasant thought, I think that a prepared prepper should have considered and planned for that moment at the end of life. Some lessons learned here:
1) have an up to date will (have you had recent life changes - divorce, newborn...) and let close family know of its location. In our case, we're still trying to find the newly departed's last will but without success, as a result, it looks like the Province will be involved, therefore much delaying the settlement of the estate. This also, made me realized that Mrs HP's and my will, though well prepared and safely guarded in the top shelf of our large fireproof gun cabinet, may as well not exist if no one knows where it is. So we recently informed a few family members on where and how to find it.
2) keep your finances in order, so as to not leave a mess to your family.
3) if you can, pre-plan your funeral arrangements. You can even buy ahead and lock in against inflation. This also eases the burden on grieving members.
4) have your life in order. Perhaps you have had petty arguments with friends or family members that left you estranged to them. On the grand scheme of things, those petty arguments maybe meaningless, but may leave you with regrets and guilt once it's too late and you can no longer say "I'm sorry".
5) regardless of your convictions, assess your spiritual well being. Is there something you want to address?
6) at the risk of sounding too philosophical, don't be a procrastinator, tomorrow may not come...
Very good advise HP
Good advice. I would add that if you have pets, make provisions for them, short and long term. I have an arrangement with the local humane society where I bequest $$ in my will (I would have anyways) in return for them caring for my pets.
HopeImReady
"The thing about smart mother f*ckers, is that they sometimes sound like crazy mother f*ckers to dumb mother f*ckers." -Abraham .”
Great advice. I'd add a living will and power of attorney document to that list. Give clear direction for what your wishes are in the event that you are unable to speak for yourself. I personally don't want to languish in a bed hooked up to machines keeping my body going if there is little to no chance of recovery; I've made that fact clear to family and have made arrangements that my wishes are respected even if I can't speak for myself.
Needs must when the devil drives.
In BC the "living will" is called an Advance Directive. We just downloaded on this week and have made appointments to a wills drawn up with our Notary.
Mr DnD suffered a series of mini heart attacks a couple of weeks ago ( that's on top of the two stokes he had three years ago) and, suffering from stress ( go figure eh?) my doctor said we needed to get this done now. Next we take some time off from work. 2016 will be about building a life to be lived, not one attached to the treadmill of the Man.
Hi DnD.
Sorry to hear about Mr. DnD's misadventures! Speedy recovery!
Mrs Jonesy and I updated ours when we moved back to BC a ways back. Always a good idea.
Coffee in the new year?
Check out Canadian Prepper Podcast on iTunes!
One is none, two is one.
Great advice, I'm sorry for your loss, HelicoPilot.
We did our wills and made sure everyone in our family received a copy.
Jonesy, you guys r welcome anytime. Himself is thinking of a Tin Foil Hat BBQ when this rain stops. I'll Pm the group with details.
Thinking of you helicopilot.
Excellant advice. We too are in midst of dealing with an estate and it would have been easier with documentation In addition to the will on matters , monthly subscriptions billed to credit card with auto renewal , other outstanding matters financial matters that may require attention because it may suddenly be left up in the air and no one else privy .
A few years ago when my Mom died, I, being the executor, went into the bank where my Mom had her safety deposit box. I knew that the will was in that box. I spoke with the woman in charge, and she asked for the key and death certificate, both of which I had with me. Then she asked for a copy of the will! I told her that the reason I needed into the box was to get the will out. I was getting quite peeved at this point, and was ready to start ranting, but regained my composure. I don't know how, but I did. I then got the key and death certificate back from the woman and went for a coffee to think. While having my cuppa, I remembered the name of the Notary that did the will up. After enjoying my coffee, I wandered down to the Notary office and spoke with Margaret. She kindly went down to her storage vault and found the will, made me two copies, certified, charged me $20.00, and sent me back to the bank. Got into the box, with two bank employees hovering over me (I later learned that this is policy), and got the will and a couple other documents out. They would not allow me to remove any other contents, as they said the stuff had to be inventoried. As if it is their business what's in there. I am really getting miffed now! I asked that we inventory the stuff now. They refused saying two other people, who weren't in that day would have to do it. These two would be available in two weeks, for me to make an appointment to come back. I eventually got everything out of the box. Now, closing the bank accounts was another hastle. They insisted on cutting two cheques, one to my daughter, and one to me, instead of just one to be deposited into the trust account. OK, I can handle that inconcenience, to close things out.....Six weeks later, after a couple of calles to the corporate head office of BMO, we finally got the go ahead to finalize everything and get on with probate.
My tidbit of advice is to have a copy of your will in a safe place out of the hands of a bank. In a safe at home, is not a bad idea. That is what we have done.
I do hope this helps aleviate some stress from an already stressful time.
KK
Very good points KK.
STN, sorry about your loss. Hope things work out ok.
