Estate Planning

Saying a Final Goodbye to a Friend

By Gregory Herman-Giddens

This posting is not about estate planning per se, but rather death, which everyone must contemplate in the course of planning his or her estate.

Yesterday afternoon I stayed at the bedside of a friend of 30 years as he peacefully died in the last stages of Lymphoma.  He was 48 years old.

There is nothing like the experience of holding a loved one's hand as he or she dies to make one realize how precious and unpredictable life is, and how important it is to cherish family and friends.  Readers who have gone through this understand that it brings a certain final maturity to the experience of what it means to be human.

So, my advice is to complete a plan for when the end will come, but then relax, and enjoy family, friends, and new adventures.  There is no better tribute to those we have lost.

Full post as published by North Carolina Estate Planning Blog on April 22, 2009 (boomark / email).