Retirement

I have finally decided to get my estate in order and make a will. Why you ask? Well, first of all, I'm approaching 40 and my mortality is staring at me in the face. Secondly, it's not a good idea to be without one if you own any kind of assets. As a matter of fact, here in British Columbia, if you die without a will and you have more than $10,000 in assets, you'll lose control over many of the decisions in your estate which means extra costs and more time spent on the process for your loved ones.

I also wouldn't want lawyers or the government to take a bigger share then they have to.

So, here are a few of the things that I'm putting in my will:

• How my life insurance is to be divided up.
• Who gets my RRSP's.
• Who gets my savings.
• Who gets all my furniture, clothing and other assets (I imagine someone will want my 94 Tempo?)
• My burial arrangements.

To be fair, I'm not playing any favourites and will be dividing everything amongst my remaining siblings. I really don't get the point to cutting people out of a will … and telling them as much. Conversely, I don't believe in telling people that they're in the will. I've seen so many situations where the person who made the will holds it over any potential beneficiaries and tries to manipulate them into doing things.

A friend of mine, who is sadly no longer with us, had a grandmother (who is thankfully, no longer with us) who would wield the will like it was a weapon of sorts. She would dangle money in front of her relatives or would somehow threaten to cut them out if they displeased her somehow. Having said that, she did work hard for her money, and some of the kids were pretty thankless towards the end. I think I'd be a bit grumpy, too.

I think the biggest issue for me will be my burial arrangements or in my case, cremation. I'm going to make it so that the executor (whoever that may be) can quickly dip into my accounts and take out just enough money to pay for any burial costs. As we all know, funerals are very expensive and I wouldn't want my family to be out-of-pocket any expenses. I recently went through the process and had to pay all costs upfront myself – thankfully, I will get the money back.

A final thing to consider is – to use a lawyer or notary?

Another friend of mine, who is worth much more than I am used a notary and it seems to have worked so far … and I am in the will ;)  Granted, he is still alive, and we won't know if anything will be contested when the time comes. If you're dealing with a fairly complex situation you may want to consider a lawyer. Also, if you end up in court, you may have no choice but to use a lawyer.

There are also other issues – taxes, life insurance – but again, you should seek an advisor if you have any questions or aren't sure about your situation.

For me, my situation is fairly simply – for now – so I'll still be weighing my options, but I am leaning towards a notary.

But, I'm still fairly young and my situation may change over the next twenty years, so I'll also be updating the will as needed.

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The passing of a loved one can certainly be a traumatic experience.  Questions can pop up like, did I spend enough time with them? Or, is it really worth it what I'm doing in my life right now?

Chances are if we're asking ourselves these questions, something could be amiss …

Here are a few things that I learned a long time ago and actually, was reminded of recently.

1.) I'll never say I'm too busy again – I know in the past, I've not visited my parents as much as I should of because I was 'busy' with work. Actually, I'm pretty good and probably drove them nuts, but there were a few times where I didn't go for lunch because I was too tired. These days, it doesn't matter how I feel, I just stop what I'm doing.

2.) I won't be so focussed on retirement – I don't want to save for tomorrow at the expense of today. We're meant to do certain things at certain ages – like party in our 20's … and probably should slow down by our late 30's – it's what makes us whole adults. If you miss out, it's not the same thing having these experiences later in life. Nothing is worse than regret.

3.) In the case of parents, they can be the glue that holds a family together. If one passes, this glue can somewhat unravel exposing rifts in the remaining family members. Has anyone out there experienced this? Do your siblings still talk to each other?

4.) You can't take it with you – while I don't believe in blowing all my money, it's important to have fun from time to time. Don't be too cheap. Spend every once in a while on yourself or your loved ones. In the past 3 years I spent a fortune on travelling, and single-handedly kept Broadway afloat, but I'm glad I did. I could be too sick or tired in my 60's to do this again.

5.) Death is inevitable – there's no use worrying about it because you won't know when your time is. I know I used to lie awake at night and worry about this or that. Like, what if my plane crashes and I die. Silly, actually.

Like taxes, you can't get away from it.

It's part of life – when it happens to someone we love, the first while is always rough, but pretty soon, it gets easier and the feelings of sadness are replaced with happy memories.

Photo: aussiegall

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Well, after a week-long hiatus, I'm back! Thanks for coming back and sticking with me!

I've been thinking about getting my affairs in order recently. Not because there's anything wrong with me, but sadly, I know that life can throw anything at you when you least expect it. One thing that concerns me is the cost of burial – I would hate for my loved ones to have to deal with this when my turn comes up.

I've often thought about prepaying my own funeral costs to alleviate the hassle and stress that my family may have to go through. It can take a long time to get money out of someone's estate which would mean the costs would have to be paid ahead of time then reimbursed. Or worse, if there's no will, it could take even longer. So, what are my options?

PREARRANGED VS PREPAID FUNERAL SERVICES

Well, with prearranged services, I would set the details for what I wanted ahead of time. I think some of the items I would include would be – the flowers, what kind of service … I think most importantly, I would want to be cremated. Don't see any point wasting valuable land burying me. At this time, there would be no money paid.

With prepaid services, I would not only arrange my funeral but I would pay for it, as well. I like the idea of this because it really puts all the worry on the shoulders of the funeral home and allows the loved ones to start the grieving process.

Any concerns?

If you prepay the money it is put into a trust account and earns interest until you're ready to 'collect' on the contract. You should be able to cancel at any time, but of course, the terms will vary per contract and there could be a cancellation penalty. If the company goes out of business, you could get your money back but it will really depend on what jurisdiction you live in – as always, do your homework!

Another issues is the increasing costs of such services. What if you prepay, and you haven't paid enough? Your loved ones could still end up paying something after all the work you did to organize everything.

FUNERAL INSURANCE

Another option is funeral insurance. With possibility of a company going broke and spiralling costs, insurance could be the answer.

Once you set down the arrangements you want, a contract is drawn up and a periodic cost is calculated. Much like life insurance, the details of the contract will affect the cost so discuss it with a broker if you are considering this possibility.

WHAT WILL I DO?

At the end of the day, I think I will stipulate in my will exactly what I want to happen. I think a short ceremony with no speeches will do … maybe some flowers.  I like roses.

With regards to prepaying or insurance, I don't think I would choose either.

I already have an emergency fund – I think I will set it up in my will so that a certain portion will be immediately available without any kind of waiting.

Some people find this topic morbid but I honestly believe if you set things up correctly, it is a gift to your loved ones.

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