Meet Jim

Jim was devoted to his wife of 60 years and nursed and cared for her as she went through a lengthy and difficult dying process over the last 18 months of her life. Although he thought he was prepared and had everything in order for when his wife died, he and the family were overwhelmed by the many questions and decisions they had to deal with both while she was dying, and after her death.  Jim was determined that his children should not go through the same confusion, turnoil and pain.

We worked with Jim and his family to develop an end-of-life plan, to help them all be better prepared for when Jim became too ill or unable to care for himself.  As part of the plan,

• We encouraged and coordinated the establishment of a will and a power of attorney for property, but we also encouraged the establishment of a power of attorney for personal care who could make decisions on his behalf if he were unable to do so.
• We encouraged and assisted with the development of an advanced care directive to ensure that the family and the individual who held the power of attorney for personal care understood clearly Jim’s health care wishes before an end-of-life crisis occurred.
• We reviewed and itemized his important personal, medical and financial information, and pointed out where relevant information was missing.
• Although Jim and his wife had purchased burial plots many years ago, they had never considered actual funeral arrangements, which were far more costly than Jim had anticipated. We set up a meeting for Jim and his family with a couple of reputable funeral homes that we felt the family would be comfortable with and, working with the funeral director, they have preplanned his funeral, in the process giving Jim and the family unanticipated peace of mind.
• Understanding that there could be significant tax and other financial implications to the family upon Jim’s death, we introduced Jim to a Financial Consultant who is also an accredited Elder Planning Counsellor, and they are working together on the financial aspects of his estate.

Jim and his family are currently getting on with their lives and they feel much more comfortable about what the future may bring. We touch base with them periodically, just to see how things are going and to ensure that any significant changes that develop  are incorporated into Jim’s end-of-life plan.