Responsible end-of-life planning begins now

It took my wife and me about 10 years to get my parents to set up a financial will and healthcare documents. I’m an only child, so my mom said “Everything we have is yours, Paul. Why do we need those documents?” My answer was something like: “We live in a time when the legal documents make it far easier to settle estates than it used to be.”

We still live in a time when those documents make life easier when you are dealing with the disposition of personal property after someone has died. Even more so than when my parents finally got their documents in order.

Over the years, the Geezer Forum has occasionally visited the need for us to be reminded that preparation of the various legal documents related to end-of-life matters really does matter. May 9 will be an opportunity for the next reminder. Our speaker will once again be elder law attorney Denise Stewart.

While her primary practice began in Newport, Wash., she and her associates also have an office in Sandpoint.

She will help us address important legal issues that impact our own lives and the lives of our families as we prepare both financially and health-wise for the future.

In this day and age, such matters really do matter. It is especially true when you want to 1) provide for your health care and your financial well-being; plus 2) clarify who you want to speak for you if you are unable to speak for yourself in both health and financial matters.

Perhaps you have assets (property is usually a primary asset) and so some estate planning might be important for you to learn more about. Denise will address those questions. Perhaps you think your assets are too modest for any kind of estate planning. But you will most likely need to consider your family going through the Probate process. Denise will direct us through that kind of legal maze also.

She wants you to bring questions to the Geezer Forum! Through your questions, she will explore many legal basics and some of their implications. These basics may include advance directives for health care (living wills and durable powers of attorney for health care), powers of attorney for finances and property, plus when family trusts are appropriate.

Do you wonder how certain legal basics might play out in particular family circumstances? It's likely that our Geezer Forum time will only begin possible conversations you can have beyond next Tuesday. But Denise may help you identify matters to discuss with family members or your own attorney.

When families are courageous enough to name their “issues” (legal, emotional, financial, etc.) they may discover they now have clearer insight to identify ways to separate and prioritize those issues into bite-size pieces. A degree of healthy control can result from organizing the issues into what is legally more important and which ones are more emotionally important.

Once the tasks are identified, various family members can take on the tasks they feel most qualified to do. That kind of “order” can go a long way toward reducing potential conflicts and getting family members working together, rather than against each other.

Please join us next Tuesday, May 9, at the Geezer Forum, 2:30-4 p.m. at the Umpqua Bank Community Room. Let’s learn together about these important “Elder Law Issues.”

Paul R. Graves, M.Div., Lead Geezer-in-Training for Elder Advocates, a consulting ministry on aging issues. Contact Paul at 208-610-4971 or email him at elderadvocates@nctv.com.