Health Directive, Wills and Power of Attorney

RTAM Wellness Seminar

Health Directive, Wills and Power of Attorney

Maureen Recksiedlert, Wellness Advocacy Committee Member

Alarge group of RTAM members filled the meeting room of the Holiday Inn on Portage Avenue on October 31, 2018. Thanks to KIT, we were able to reach our members and publicize our seminar. Sharon Tod was once again giving her informative presentation on Wills, Power of Attorney and Health Care Directives. Sharon tackles her tough subjects using humour and real life examples from the experiences of anonymous clients. We can learn to avoid their errors by doing our estate planning well in advance.

Choosing trustworthy executors, power of attorneys and proxies along with backups for each position will help you ensure your wishes are followed. Notifying your choices for the positions is vital so they know when they need to act on your behalf. The executor of the will’s job begins at death. The power of attorney’s job begins when you request them to act for you regarding your property and financial affairs. The proxy for the health care directive takes over when we no longer have the capacity to to make decisions with respect to a proposed treatment. Sharon pointed out that these are difficult jobs and may involve considerable time and aggravation.

Health care directives should be placed in your ERIK kit on the refrigerator so it will be readily available in case an emergency arises. The will and power of attorney documents should be placed in your safety deposit box.

There were many questions and Sharon answered them thoroughly so all could learn from her responses.

Sharon feels that paying a reasonable fee to a lawyer to help prepare a will and power of attorney could save you from costly mistakes later on.

The Wellness Committee would like to thank Sharon Tod for volunteering her time to help our members. 

Photo Contest Entry "Horses" by Norma Donley