FALL ISSUE 2015
A Special Supplement to
living
Top 5 vacations Where there’s a will ... in and around Iowa By KELSEY HAUGEN
CNA staff reporter khaugen@crestonnews.com
Retirement presents the perfect opportunity for seniors to jump in the car and get of town for a day, a weekend or a full week with their spouse, friends or family
to explore what the Midwest has to offer. With that in mind, the News Advertiser met with three Creston couples – Rex and Mary Shough, Betty and Dean Wallace and Theola and Doug Bullock – who travel often to help us select the top 5 places in and near Iowa you could visit this fall.
1 Le Claire to Dubuque riverboat cruise Contributed photo by Twilight Riverboat
Take an all-inclusive, two-day Twilight Riverboat Mississippi River cruise from Le Claire to Dubuque this fall.
Mileage: 246.5 miles from Creston Driving distance: about 3 hours, 45 minutes from Creston More info: www.riverboattwilight.com or 800-331-1467 Reasons to visit: The Twilight Riverboat two-day Mississippi River cruise is perfect for a relaxing weekend away this fall, Theola Bullock said. On the first day, the boat leaves Le Claire at 8:15 a.m. and floats 166 miles down the river to Dubuque, arriving at the Riverfront Grand Harbor Resort at 7 p.m. On the second day, the boat departs from
More than half of Americans ages 55-64 don’t have a will. Here’s how you can join the other half. ■
Dubuque at 11:30 a.m. and arrives in Le Claire at 7 p.m. The cruise includes meals, lodging, entertainment, entry to the National Mississippi River Museum and use of the Dubuque shuttle. If you want to make it a longer trip, head to Le Claire two days before the cruise and visit the Mississippi River Distilling Company, American Pickers’ Antique Archaeology and Buffalo Bill Museum. Act fast because the cruise only runs through Nov. 1. Please see VACATIONS, Page 2
By IAN RICHARDSON
CNA staff reporter irichardson@crestonnews.com
When Travis and Ethel Morgan finished their wills and accompanying documents in June, it wasn’t for themselves. It was for their six-year-old daughter, Sadie. Travis, 40, a production shift manager at CHS, and Ethel, 35, a legal assistant for the James Law Office in Creston, wanted to make sure she was in good hands should anything happen to them. “If one of us or both of us passed away – can you imagine that kid will have lost both the parents and have all of these legal things?” Ethel said. When it comes to drafting a will, Travis and Ethel are in the minority. According to a 2015 survey by online legal technology company Rocket Lawyer, seven in 10 Americans aged 45 to 54 don’t have a will. According to the same survey, more than half of Americans aged 55 to 64 still haven’t drafted one. Why? Local attorney Marion James, who’s been in the business for more than 40 years, said people may procrastinate on their wills because of family dynamics, the expense involved or simple apathy. Most likely, he said, it’s a combination. James said many people come to him to start a will James when outside circumstances make them think about what might happen when they die.
“More often than not, people come because they’re going to be gone on vacation and away from home for awhile,” James said. “That, for whatever reason, causes people to start thinking and deciding that they want to have their house in order before they’re gone just in case something happens.” But waiting can result in lots of hassle for loved ones if a will isn’t in place.
Why make a will? When someone dies without a will, the passing on of property is known as “intestate succession.” Under Iowa law, all distributable property will go to the surviving spouse. If the spouse is not alive, property goes to the surviving children, then down to the grandchildren, then, depending on who has survived the deceased, other relatives. For blended families with a surviving spouse, the spouse receives at least one-half of assets before they are passed on to other Please see WILL, Page 3