I was listening to NPR the other day during a discussion of the decision to no longer print several Dr. Seuss books. One of the guests was a literary executor. Who knew this position existed? She stated her job was to act according to what the author would have wanted. To be clear, Dr. Seuss’s estate made the decision to pull the books. The who, what or why is not the issue for this blog. What is relatable to this blog is apparently the estates of successful authors select someone to act as a literary executor to make decisions about future printing of the books based on the wishes of the author/ family. And as I thought about this, my mind went back to my original thesis for this blog- namely, to encourage people to find an agent who would act in their behalf regarding health, financial, material possessions and intellectual property in the event they become incapacitated.
The key question for the executor was – What would the
author have wanted? And the key message
for you is “let someone you trust know what you want in the future”. Yes, this may involve an attorney, and several heart-to-heart
conversations with children or other family members. This may mean a sit down with a physician and
it may come down to writing out a set of instructions- items that are not included
in a will. Remember, your computer/phone/tablet
passwords are not part of a will. What
happens to the special vase that has been your family for years ? Who gets the Bronze Star that Grandpa received? Whether or not you have an “estate” is irrelevant. What is important is that someone knows where
your will is, who your attorney is, who your physicians are, and where the instructions are located.
As I write this in March 2021, we can all acknowledge we
have been through crazy and unprecedented times. And while we may have realized our material
things are not important, we still have these material things and if we don’t
want them thrown out, we need to tell a trusted person what to do with them
when we are gone.
Let me know your thoughts.
Stay safe.
