Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
My brother's question caught me by surprise. "So what’s your plan if you get COVID?" he asked me. "And what's Mom's" Oh! Right.
My mom added a couple more pesky questions a few days later. "Where are your durable power of attorney and advance health directive documents stored, Lynate?" I didn't even have those documents created. I was busted!
Their questions were the wake up call I needed, and I sprang into action. When the three of us met by phone the next week, I had a COVID plan, plus these two documents AND a will all completed.
I'm hoping I don't have to use these documents for a good long while, but it felt good to know I’d prepared for the worst. It also felt good to know I had left gifts in my will to my son and several other family members, as well as a percentage to Citizens' Climate Lobby, ensuring my commitment to a livable climate extends even past my own lifetime.
If you or any of your family members are having similar conversations these days, or are motivated to work on this for other reasons, please know that Citizens' Climate Lobby now has a 100% free estate planning resource available to you. We partnered with FreeWill to offer a quick and easy way to complete a durable power of attorney, advanced healthcare directives, and a will. While you do have the option to create a legacy by designating Citizens' Climate Lobby as one of your beneficiaries, you certainly aren’t required to do so. These resources exist to help you protect what matters most, and are free regardless whether or not you make these gifts.
FreeWill partners with many non-profit organizations, including United Way and the American Heart Association, and we are confident that this is a trusted resource for you and your family. You can find out more here.
I'm going to continue to be careful and make decisions which give me the best chance of not getting sick with COVID, and I hope you are able to stay safe, too. But I'm grateful to have used some of this downtime to get my affairs in order. And I'm really looking forward to the day when we can all be together once more. Take good care, and stay strong!
Lynate Pettengill is Senior Development Director for CCL and CCE. She works remotely from Boulder, CO, and can't wait to get back out in the mountains once shelter-in-place orders are lifted.
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