ELDER LAW TODAY – WINTER 2017

During signing appointments Karla and Tanya always encourage clients to share what they’ve learned with their children (or agents/trustees). To talk about their requests and end-of-life wishes. To discuss where important documents can be found. The most common answer? “I don’t want to bother my children with that.” So imagine how thrilled we were when we met Reverend Barbara Hebner and heard of her unique and FUN way to go about these types of conversations! Reverand Hebner, a retired University of Delaware Women’s Studies Professor and Unitarian Minister, has developed an interactive activity for her large family called a “Will Drill”. Rev. Hebner describes the activity as a cross between a scavenger hunt and a pop quiz. She calls her family together with the promise of pizza and lets them loose in her house with a list of important items to locate. For Rev. Hebner, these include her checkbook, her income taxes, unpaid bills, financial records, safety deposit box key, and Levinson Firm red binder. There are no prizes other than the outcome, which is the goal of putting this exercise together: an anxiety-free, efficient way of finding your loved one’s most important documents. Having been involved in the closing of numerous estates over the years, Rev. Hebner wants to leave her affairs not just in good order, but in best order. Her biggest fear is leaving her family with eye rolls and stress as their last memories of her. She’d much rather them have a sense of peace and preparedness around the end of her life. In addition to preparedness, these Will Drills are also a financial education tool for her grandchildren. These exercises are setting a framework for good financial literacy and a positive experience with managing one’s finances.

We are so grateful to Rev. Hebner for allowing us to share her exceptional idea with all of you in the hopes that it sparks a similar activity (or at least a conversa-tion) in your own families. The key to making the Will Drill work for your own situation is to personalize it. In addition to Rev. Hebner’s list, your own might include life insurance policies or VA discharge papers. Make it your own! It’s also important to schedule events like this to make sure they take place. Maybe you do it when something changes in your finances or if you have been diagnosed with a health issue. Or maybe it’s after Thanksgiving dinner each year, before anyone brings out the pie. We would love to hear about things you’re doing in your own families around planning for the future. If you have a creative idea, maybe we’ll even ask to feature you in our next newsletter!