One of the gravest responsibilities of retirement and life for that matter is preparing and maintaining a Last Will and Testament. Even those four words sound rather ominous as you think about laying out all of your dying wishes. The fact of the matter is that if you don’t leave a will then you dump that responsibility on your loved ones, or worse yet people that don’t care. I’ve prepared four different wills in my lifetime, working with both attorneys and even Legal Zoom. One of my wife’s recent employment benefits includes legal services, and we certainly want to take this opportunity to update our will in particular.

Our last legal paperwork was done in Texas, so this will be the Oregon version. My wife’s daughter lives here in Portland so it’s an easy decision to make her “Executor” or “Successor Trustee.” Where we end up next is always in question, so chances are we will be making future changes that might involve moving this role to one of our two other children. Our plan this time is to prepare a “Living Trust.” I’ve filled out all the forms and will take them to the attorney tomorrow. My wife and I will then work with him to determine our best strategy based on cost and effectiveness.

I tried to explain some of this back in Post #166, so like most people I’ve been procrastinating on this Last Will update for some time now. As I discovered, a living trust (inter-vivos” or “revocable” trust) is a written legal document through which your assets are placed into a trust for your benefit during your lifetime and then transferred to designated beneficiaries at your death by your chosen representative, called a “successor trustee.”  It means faster distribution as the successor trustee pays your debts and distributes your assets.  Also, If you become ill or incapacitated, the living trust is written so that your trustee can automatically begin making decisions, as opposed to a will, that without a durable power of attorney, the court will be in control of all related decisions, including appointing an overseer. We definitely want control of our assets and the means by which they are distributed.

The “Living Trust” seems to be the most hassle-free course of action. I mentioned this to my son on the phone today and he immediately jumped to the conclusion that this was all about my recent trip to the Emergency Room. That is not the case – I’ve simply been putting it off, and my wife’s recent legal insurance package essentially removes any cost concerns.

Preparing any will is not a pleasant process. This is why it’s too often avoided. Thoughts of leaving behind all the material goods that you’ve collected in a lifetime can be disturbing. All that you’ve worked for given away to others that probably don’t want them and certainly won’t appreciate them in the same way you did. After all, who wants a 1955 Sherm Lollar White Sox jersey other than me? Even my son is a die-hard Cubs fan. The Egyptians believed you could take them with you, but those were real treasures. (See Post #805). I’m also not a religious man, but I can’t help but think of the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come. 
Thy will be done in earth, 
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us. 
And lead us not into temptation, 
But deliver us from evil. 
For thine is the kingdom, 
The power, and the glory, 
For ever and ever. 
Amen.

I highlighted the most important words, “Thy will be done.” After my meeting with my attorney tomorrow, I will have fulfilled this important passage. My Will will be done! Amen.