In 2000 my mom was rushed to St. Joseph Hospital in London, Ontario. After arriving she was placed in an induced comma. She was in the that comma until the morning that she died.

The morning of February 11th she was taken off all life support and quickly passed away quietly in her bed, she was fifty-seven years old. My mother died intestate.

Dying intestate is a term that means someone has died without a will. Dying without a will means that the government means that the government gets to use provincial laws to decide how to distribute your estate and appoint your executor. Your estate includes all of your assets (anything you possess of financial or other value) and any debts. What happens with your estate varies from province to province and it may be very different from what you would have wanted since the government doesn’t take into account the specific needs of individual families.

https://www.willful.co/learn/dying-without-a-will

The situation left everything in chaos, which led to complete breakdown within the family, siblings basically, of trying to do what was best for our mother. We did have a service for mother and the fighting grew worse, to the point I left Ontario in tears. For my siblings I have not been in any contact since.

When I arrived back home I began to take steps about getting a will drawn up and other matters that I felt was neccessary to have. I did not want my daughter and grandchildren to go through what I had experience dealing with my mother’s death.

There was something new being introduced in Canada to help people instruct family and friends of someone who may not be able to speak for themselves in a medical situation, it was being called “Living Will”. A person would have everything in there about what kind of care they wanted, whether or not to resusitate. When it comes to DNR hospitals will recognize a Living Will, but yet they prefer to have a patient sign one of theirs.

I booked an appointment with my lawyer and instructed him that I wanted, A Last Testament and Will, A Living Will, and Power of Attorney to be given to whoever I would appoint to be able for them to carry out any business, such as banking and other matters. The lawyer had not yet written a living will and so I volunteered to do the research and bring it back to him. Within the weeks to come I had, Last Will and Testament, Living Will, and Power of Attorney all in place.

Next came the financial end of things, getting some life insurance so that my daughter would not have to bear the costs of my burial, I have left instructions that I do not want a funeral. I called the insurance company that I buy my home insurance from and they directed me to a life insurance broker. I made the call and I began to explain what I was looking for. I needed something that would cover final expenses. So, my policy gives me coverage of $12,500.00. To also help the trailer will be sold to the trailer park to cover any loose ends that may be left.

I sent all of my personal papers to my daughter. She was happy that I talked to her about it and that I had all the plans in place.

Out of all o f this I can have rest and peace of mind nowing that my final affairs are all set out.

Dear reader, do you have your final affairs in place? Does your partner, family, and friends know your wishes should you die? I know some younger people think that this can wait until they are near retirement. Truth be told, many young people die unexpectedly and without final arrangements. It is never too early to have all things in place should death occur!

Here is a website:

End of Life Planning Checklist Canada