
Estate Planning – Just Do It!
Did you know that Oct 15-21, 2018 is National Estate Planning Awareness Week?
Some months after my husband Greg’s death, I was invited to speak to a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Leadership Summit about our individual legacies.
I closed my remarks with the following words about estate planning:
“Just do it! Particularly if you have companion animals who depend on you. Many people tell me they will get around to estate planning later – but you never know if there will be a ‘later’.
My husband and I started drafting our wills in 2011, when he was just 48 years old, and asked a friend to be our executor. The friend said ‘sure, I’d be honored – but isn’t that a bit morbid?’
Greg and I also thought it would be many years before our estate planning documents would be put to use. Sadly, it turned out that they were put to use a short four years later.
One of the few saving graces for me, after Greg died, was that I had his will and other estate planning documents ready to refer to – for myself; for the rest of his human family; and for the horses, dogs, and cats who resided with me.”
A print version of my longer speech, titled What PETA Means to Me, is posted on the PETA Prime website.