BY JUANITA KNIGHT | President , ARTA

As the president of ARTA ,

I am a member of all of the standing and ad hoc committees and am so impressed by the dedication , expertise and sheer generosity of these volunteer members who give so much to our association . The committees generate recommendations that are considered and reviewed by the Board of Directors at their quarterly meetings .

At the recent meeting of the Pension and Financial Advisory Committee there was an information session on estate planning that included estate planning , powers of attorney , personal directives , tax and financial planning , cost of living allowance , pension and insurance topics .

I have had occasion to attend several branch meetings and to talk informally with our members . I am heartened by the fact that they recognize the importance of having current personal directives , wills , enduring power of attorney and Greensleeve documents . Some acknowledge that they knew they needed them , and they were on their ‘ to do ’ list . I am impressed with how many of our members have these documents in place .

I met a member who had created a binder for her children in which there was every topic required to handle their estate . From wills , personal directives , power of attorney documents , bank branches dealt with , credit cards , investments , tax information like the current notice of assessment , service providers for different kinds of insurance , utility providers , cellphones , the Internet and how the bills are paid as well as where passports and important documents are stored and passwords for computer access and online accounts . She had also talked with her accountant and financial planner about her estate planning . They reviewed the documents at a family dinner and also had the sometimes difficult conversation about end-of life-care and planning . It was a relief to all to know what her wishes were .

One person told me that after returning from a friend ’ s funeral , she realized that she had not communicated her wish to donate her organs or given any thought to her own funeral and where her remains were to be interred .

I am pleased that so many members have shared their joys and concerns with me . Having completed ‘ all the paperwork ’ will make no difference to whether or not ‘ my sun will come up tomorrow ’ but it certainly gives my family and me the peace of mind to enjoy life each day .

Have I completed all the tasks yet ? No , but I do have a timeline and a deadline .

Have you done yours yet ?

news & views SUMMER 2016 | 5