End of Life Planning

Why can’t families easily compare the quality, staffing and safety of the place where they may spend $6,000, $8,000 or $10,000 a month? In a recent Sixty and Me article about ownership of senior living communities, one reader was shocked that few if any regulations exist in assisted living…

In the spirit of October, which is not only National Estate Planning Awareness Month but also the month of Halloween, it seems appropriate to think about what can feel like a gruesome topic: when we stop breathing. What are the “morbid details” that you want to take place? Do you want CPR administered? Who do you want to speak for you when you can’t…

Most of us know, somewhere in the back of our minds, that we should get our affairs in order. And most of us keep finding reasons to put it off, because the task feels heavy, or morbid, or like something for “later.” Here’s a gentler way to think about it: this isn’t a task about dying. It’s a task about the people you love, and it’s one of the kindest things you can do for them…

One of the songs I have always loved is When I Go by Dave Carter and Tracy Grammar, written two years before Dave’s untimely death at age 49. We all have different beliefs about what happens after we die. We also have different ideas…

I am resurrecting a sign and a theme that I came upon vacationing in rural Wisconsin several years ago that is still timely to this day. My husband and I drove by a “Man Sale, ½ Price” sign one June day and out of curiosity turned around to follow the sign and see what it was about. I guessed right, it was a tool sale. And just like many sales, the last day is discounted…

A woman once told me something that stopped me in my tracks. She said, “I don’t know what my children think I’m planning… and honestly, I’m afraid to ask.”
She wasn’t worried about conflict. She loved her children deeply, and they had a good relationship. But underneath it all sat a quiet uncertainty: Do they expect to inherit the house?

Not long ago, a reader shared something that stayed with me. She said, “My home is the most valuable thing I own, but I’m not sure what actually happens to it when I’m gone.” It was not a gloomy conversation. In fact, she was healthy, active, and enjoying retirement…

Do you love the holidays like I do? Or do you feel more like Scrooge (like my husband pretends to be)? If you’re not in the “Bah humbug” mood, what is it that brings you joy about this season? Lights, music, food, festivities, gifts…

A close friend of mine recently lost his father. It was sudden and without warning. His dad was in his early 70s, still full of life, about to retire, and looking forward to future trips they would never get to take. It made me remember, people don’t always pass away in the order we expect…

In the spirit of Halloween, I couldn’t NOT share this picture I took on a lovely Fall walk the other day. It made me chuckle but also think about the futility of waiting for the perfect anything… man in our life, time to achieve a goal on our list, or tackle the dreaded estate planning…