Hello all! I am looking for some personal stories (nothing real long) that I can include in my article on making wills, living wills and health care proxy.
The piece is for All You Magazine.
In a nutshell:
Have you created any of the three documents?
Were there circumstances that led you to do so?
Alternatively, have you or someone close to you been in a situation were NOT having any of the above documents was a real problem?
I would need to have your first and last name, city and state for publication, and contact information for the fact checker.
And I have a really SHORT deadline--like I need input by Thursday at the latest!
If you have any comments, please respond to nancy@nancychristie.com
Thanks!!

Hi Nancy -

Dave and I decided to make trusts as opposed to wills but living wills and health care information is contained in both our trusts. We did this because I goaded "us" into meeting with the lawyer.Prior to our trusts being made, we didn't even have wills.

Here are a few reasons I wanted a trust as opposed to a will...

*it's less expensive. sure, it costs more money to write a trust as opposed to a will BUT there's no probate

*it's private. NO ONE can see your trust unless YOU allow. a trust is not on public record at the court house upon my demise. NO ONE can see to whom I gave what nor can they ascertain my earthly worth.

*a trust can't be broken.

Dave's cousin, whom I helped care for in her last days, *refused* to make a will. I BEGGED her to make a will; "leave it all to your college or the animal shelter" said I. But she wouldn't and didn't and the ensuing grievious mess was a wonder to behold. Relatives were shouting at each other, grabbing for what they could get...it was just plain rude and wrong. But, as the Good Book says, "the *LOVE* of money is the root of *all* evil" <emphasis mine>.

Lawyers got plenty, as did the bank and that meant there was less for the heirs. Also, the people who helped care for her...and I don't mean me because I only stepped in from time to time to quiet her or read the Bible...but those people who bathed her, who did her laundry, who cared for her personal needs weren't given anything because her will didn't stipulate it. A couple of her relatives got together and gave the primary care giver some money but most of them acted like we'd suggested they open a vein.

Finally, her earthly belongings were disposed of, the money split up and "peace" ensued. But there are still relatives who aren't speaking to each other...sigh...and all over money or power but it's about the same, isn't it?

If you need a phone number, e-mail me off forum at bricbenn@thistlecovefarm.com. Best of success with your article.

Sandra Bennett
Tazewell County, VA