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Newspaper Article - Posthaste: Canadians are financially stressed

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 23:13:02 GMT

This article from the Financial Post discusses a recent poll of Canadian employees, which found that 60% would accept less money for better support of their personal well-being. Read more about how stress is affecting Canadians and the importance they are putting on mental health.

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Book - Raising Aging Parents: Guidelines for Families in the Second Half of Life

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 18:52:51 GMT

Dr. Ken Druck, one of our featured resources has a new book that is very relevant to our workbook users: "Raising Aging Parents: Guidelines for Families in the Second Half of Life." It is a very comprehensive book, dealing realistically with the trials and challenges of being responsible for aging parents and trying to ensure their lives remain as good as possible. Alternately, the content provides a very helpful perspective for those of us who are intent on planning ahead and leaving a less stressful set of circumstances for our family to deal with if we become incapable or pass away unexpectedly. Please visit www.kendruck.com .

We thank Dr. Druck for providing a wonderful compliment to Departing Details Workbook by including a reference to it in the book as a very useful resource, as he details in his video .

Newspaper Article - Despite Their Priorities, Nearly Half of Americans Over 55 Still Don't Have a Will

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 03:04:55 GMT

This article from Forbes explains the surprising fact that many Americans over 55 don't have their affairs in order. Read on to find out what's holding people back, why estate planning is so important, and some tips for tackling the difficult subject.

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Article - Alternatives to Traditional Funerals

Fri, 09 Aug 2019 03:04:55 GMT

Something New We’ve Learned In Response to Our Readers Questions

Over the past two years many users of the Departing Details Workbook have asked if we are aware of alternatives other than a very expensive, traditional funeral. As our culture is becoming more open to talking about wishes and planning ahead it seems that more options are emerging. Of course, traditional services are available from the established funeral providers for those who want that option.

We heard about the services of Choice Memorial in Calgary, Canada from two users of Departing Details Workbook who were very pleased with having a more cost effective option without compromising quality. A quick google search indicated that very similar models are starting to appear throughout the United States and Canada and we wanted to take this opportunity to introduce our readers to an option they might not be aware of.

We asked Teresa Jones, the owner of Choice Memorial, to provide the following information to assist you in finding similar, alternate providers in your community if you are interested:

Teresa Jones, owner of Choice Memorial

Why Choice Memorial Came To Be

After spending many years as a licensed funeral service professional, I began to see that funeral homes on the whole were old-fashioned and not changing with the times. Funeral trends have been changing, with an emphasis on keeping things simple, and hand in hand more affordable. It became my goal to find a way of providing cremation and burial options as well as memorial and funeral services at a fair, realistic and reasonable price. Based on these goals, Choice Memorial Cremation & Funeral Services opened in September of 2014 with the following guidelines and philosophies:

We are open and transparent about our pricing. Prices for services and products (caskets and urns) are listed online for potential clients to compare. We encourage people to shop around and find the best fit for their emotional and financial needs.
We are a full service provider- offering the full range from simple cremations with no service to full traditional burial services.
We offer a no pressure environment, the important thing is to honor the deceased with choices that are right for the loved one and their budget.
We operate with as little overhead as possible in order to keep prices as low as possible while still offering the highest quality of service. For example, we have a facility to hold smaller services, and work closely with various public venues, churches, and auditoriums in order to meet our client’s needs. Often, there is only a modest fee or even no fee for the facility.

Similar to traditional providers, we offer services in times of crisis and unexpected death and also offer our services for those who wish to pre-plan. Pre-planning provides peace of mind and locks in the prices and protects from inflation.

We put families before profits.

At Choice Memorial, we strongly believe that funerals are a place to pay your respects, not your life savings. Although our services are provided in the Calgary area, we know that similar providers are emerging all over North America. The Choice Team encourages you to find the option in your community that best meets your needs whether it be in a time of crisis or as part of pre-planning. www.choicememorial.com

Why Accounts and Passwords are Such an Important Part of Estate Planning

Sat, 13 Jul 2019 03:04:55 GMT

As more of our memories are stored online, including photographs and videos, it's so important to share account details. Leaving access information, usernames, and passwords for all relevant devices/accounts ensures your loved ones can access these memories.

A widow's battle to recover family photos.

Why gaining access to a cloud account was so difficult for this grieving husband.

Upcoming Event - Death Over Dinner Calgary

Wed, 05 Jun 2019 10:56:46 GMT

Departing Details is sponsoring this upcoming event and we're so excited to be a part of it.

Event Details:

Death over Dinner Calgary

Tuesday, June 25, 2019 | 6:00 - 9:00 pm

Thomson's Event Space, Hyatt Calgary

Death over Dinner Calgary is meant to spark conversation and get people talking about this essential topic. Katie Smith, a dynamic young professional woman has personally organized what promises to be a thought provoking and inspiring event coming to Calgary June 25. She is doing this personally (in addition to holding a full time position in the energy sector) as part of Future Proof Strategies. Future Proof is dedicated to curating elevated experiences and content to inspire change worth spreading. As soon as we heard about the event, Departing Details Workbook became a sponsor and will be providing all attendees with a digital copy of the workbook.

Please consider bringing family or friends and attending what promises to be one of the most unique and hopefully meaningful events being held in Calgary this year. Buy tickets now!

Article - What time is it (in your life)?

Wed, 24 Apr 2019 11:03:47 GMT

The team at Departing Details recently had the privilege of being introduced to Dr. Ken Druck, a renowned author and thought leader dealing with how to become the best version of you no matter your age. His bestselling book, “Courageous Aging; Your Best Years Ever Reimagined," is available on Amazon or on his website, www.kendruck.com . He has graciously provided an article for our Departing Details community.

Newspaper Article - Departing Details helps ease loss for loved ones

Tue, 23 Oct 2018 11:23:06 GMT

This article from the Calgary Herald explores the story of how Departing Details came to be and why you should consider the workbook for yourself.

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Exciting New Initiative! Supplement Your Company's Human Resources/Wellness Plan

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 11:30:14 GMT

Most of us do an excellent job of keeping our business and professional responsibilities organized and on track. However, most of us are equally unorganized and unprepared for tragic events that can happen to us or our loved ones; incapacitating illnesses, injuries, and deaths can occur without warning. Although most employers offer some form of bereavement leave, when the unthinkable happens to a loved one and an employee is unprepared, they may spend their leave searching for information or dealing with family conflict surrounding unmade estate decisions. As a result the employee returns to work with unresolved grief and a long list of administrative issues to resolve.

We believe the Departing Details workbook can ease the stress of planning a personal or loved one's estate and allow individuals to focus on mourning instead of researching in times of tragedy. For a modest one-time cost, we are now offering the fillable PDF download to organizations and companies, which they can include in their HR/Wellness Plan. It is much easier to complete the workbook before tragedy strikes and in the case of young staff, this provides them with a tool to use with parents or elderly loved ones.

We believe so strongly in the value of the workbook as part of any HR/Wellness Plan that we will be launching a Client Page on our website. This page will feature companies who are offering the downloadable workbook to staff and/or clients. The logo from each company will be posted on the Client Page along with a write up about the company and a download button allowing staff to access their pre-paid copy of the workbook. Among our new partners is an international organization with staff in 130 countries, a college with 17,000 students, and an accounting/asset management firm.

If your company or your employer is interested (minimum 50 employees) please contact our team at info@estateworkbook.com or Rosemary Pahl directly on LinkedIn .

As Benjamin Franklin said, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail."

Departing Details Workbook Is Part of an Award Winning Event!

Fri, 10 Aug 2018 11:33:46 GMT

Rosemary Pahl, the author of the Departing Details Workbook, received an award for organizing the “Best Personal Development Event” in the Canadian Region for the Young Presidents Organization.

The event was held twice, once in Calgary and once in Edmonton in June 2017, and focused on encouraging the audience of Alberta business people to plan ahead and get their personal affairs in order. The sessions included four components:

The keynote was an expert Medical Doctor whose presented his research findings, patient care studies and insights into topics such as advance care directives, organ donation, and legal assisted death.
Each attendee or couple received a copy of Departing Details Workbook and advice for completing it.
The events were held at the premises of a local funeral provider who gave behind the scenes tours and answered those hard-to-ask, awkward questions.
The event concluded with informal discussions over dinner.

The event was judged in comparison to events held by 16 chapters across Canada between July 2016 and June 2017, and based on criteria including resources, content, innovation, take home value, engagement, and encouragement of the audience to step outside of their comfort zone.

Winning the award was extremely rewarding, but even more rewarding is continuing to hear feedback from the attendees about their progress in completing the workbook and how it has impacted their decision making.

Newspaper Article - Almost 100,000 Canadians registered to donate organs after Humboldt Broncos crash

Fri, 11 May 2018 11:36:22 GMT

In the wake of the Humboldt tragedy, organ and tissue donation registries in Canada have received an incredible number of signups. Read this article from the Calgary Herald now to find out how meaningful these numbers are.

Read the article

Learn more about organ donation in Canada

Magazine Article - Passions: Rosemary Pahl

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 12:38:30 GMT

Check out this piece from the Ivey School of Business magazine, Intouch. As an Ivey Alum, Intouch featured Rosemary and her passion project: Departing Details.

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Download the issue

Video - Talk about your death while you're still healthy: Michelle Knox

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 12:41:03 GMT

This fantastic Ted Talk with Michelle Knox covers about something that is very uncomfortable for most of us: death. Watch now to find out why talking about the subject while we are still healthy is so important.

What the video

How the Departing Details Workbook Came to be

Fri, 13 Oct 2017 11:53:10 GMT

In 2012, shortly after I retired, I made a life changing decision. I would not leave my family facing the chaos and confusion that so often follows the death of a loved one. This commitment grew from years of witnessing emotional and logistical struggles- first as a Registered Nurse and later in CEO roles within hospitals and medical laboratories. Too often families disagreed about what their loved one would have wanted, leading to unnecessary stress and at times lasting estrangement. Personal experiences- supporting a close friend who refused to plan and having to search for documents after my parents passed away- further strengthened my resolve to take action.

Although my husband and I had spent our careers running complex organizations, we realized we had not applied the same care to our personal affairs. I began compiling essential information in a simple binder. Over five years it evolved as I added topics and refined the contents. Because we worked on it during a time of good health, even difficult conversations felt manageable- and sometimes were shared with laughter.

In June 2016 I organized a business program on Advanced Health Care Directives, featuring a physician speaker. I offered my binder as a handout, and to my surprise a wealth manager asked to purchase copies for his clients. The moment revealed a broader need.

Before sharing the workbook more widely, I worked with professionals to edit, design and refine it. By early 2017, hundreds of shrink wrapped copies had been sold through word of mouth alone. I soon realized that a website - and digital access- would allow the workbook to reach far more people.

Around this time, I was reconnected with Steve Harris whose father I had worked with previously. Steve had also worked for my husband and me almost twenty years earlier when he was a teenager helping with our home computers. In the intervening years, after university and an initial career working for large companies, Steve used his entrepreneurial skills and built a very successful online business. www.wocode.com In March 2017, Steve became my business partner. His expertise –and the support of his global virtual team- was instrumental to our success.

We launched our website in April 2017 www.estateworkbook.com , offering digital downloads and later hardcopies. Designed to be broadly applicable, the Departing Details Workbook is now used in 23 countries as of the end of 2025.

Our mission is simple: to help people plan ahead, reduce stress, and encourage meaningful conversations with loved ones. Planning ahead is not just practical – it’s an act of love and kindness for your family.

Wishing you peace of mind,

Rosemary Pahl

Author and Partner,

Departing Details Workbook.

When Heirs Cry – 5 Reasons Why You Need to Plan for Your Inevitable Death Now

Thu, 13 Jul 2017 12:07:53 GMT

We know from media coverage that the estate of the late musician Prince remains unsettled a year after his death because he did not leave a will or name his heirs. As a result, his estate faces a massive tax bill with a one-two bite from the United States tax code (40 percent) and state of Minnesota (16 percent) while DNA testing and court hearings are underway to determine his legitimate heirs. Although most of us do not have an estate as complex as Prince’s, we all have wishes about how our estate should be handled and how we will be remembered when we die. However, rather than deal with it proactively, most of us would rather avoid the issue. Here are five reasons you should plan now:

Estate planning is an act of love and kindness for your family.

One of the greatest legacies you can leave your loved ones is to ensure they have the information they need when you die. This allows your heirs to focus on grieving and healing rather than being consumed by stressful searches for information or, even worse, family conflicts around decisions. As an added bonus, preplanning results in conversations that can create a more meaningful process for the whole family.

Just having a will is not enough.

Having an up-to-date will is essential, especially if you do not want to leave a situation similar to Prince. A good rule of thumb is that a will revision is required after any major life event, such as the birth of a child, the death of a spouse, marriage, divorce, major financial changes or at least every five years. If you become incompetent, a power of attorney is required in order to have your affairs managed appropriately.

Health care issues may emerge prior to death.

Living wills and advance directives are written legal documents regarding your preferences for medical care if you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Having one provides guidance to your family, caregivers and physicians and reduces confusion, misunderstanding or disagreements while ensuring you can get the medical care you need and want. At the point of death, your family may be asked about donating your organs. Having these discussions now means there will not be uncertainty and stress about what to do at the time.

There is a long list of basic information your heirs or executors will require.

Imagine that I asked you to produce your birth certificate, your marriage certificate, a list of all your investments, a list of any loans owing or owed to you, a key to your safe deposit box and a list of your passwords. Could you do this easily? These are just a representative sample of the many things your executor will require. Now imagine having to find all that information if you had no idea where to look. Recently, the adult daughter of a friend died suddenly and the stress caused by her mother’s inability to locate such information as passwords caused costly delays and interfered with the grieving process.

How do you want to be remembered?

Arguably, one of the more difficult areas to deal with is how you want to be remembered. If selecting a gravesite, burial versus cremation or writing your own obituary is too difficult to contemplate, you can assist your family by leaving relevant information, including preferences, family history, résumés, awards, details about causes near to your heart and other documents that they can use to make funeral decisions or write an obituary.

The issue of preplanning became a passion of mine a few years ago after the death of my parents and a close friend. I learned firsthand how overwhelming it can be to wrap up a loved ones estate without the necessary information. As a result I created a planning system; “Departing Details Workbook – A step-by step guide to leaving your loved ones with the information they need to know when you die.” If I were to die suddenly, I have peace of mind that my affairs are in order. Do you? Whether you use “Departing Details” or another guide, the important thing is to ensure your loved ones have the necessary information they need when you die or are incapacitated. It is an act of love and one of the kindest things you can do for your family.

Does a Simple and Dignified Funeral Have to Cost a Small Fortune?

Tue, 27 Jun 2017 12:20:14 GMT

Originally published by Tangerine Forward Thinking. Republished with permission.

By Robin Taub – www.robintaub.com

My mother passed away unexpectedly on August 16, 2014. The death of a family member, especially a parent, is never easy. I had just seen my mother the day before she died, and even though her health had been declining, her death was sudden and I wasn't prepared.

We were still in a state of shock when we headed to the funeral home to make arrangements. Our religion instructs us to bury the dead immediately, and arrangements had to be made quickly. My mother's wishes were for a simple graveside service and burial. How much could that cost? Turns out, a lot.

Funeral and Burial Costs You Might Not Think Of

When you think about a funeral and a burial, the costs that come to mind are the cemetery plot and the casket. But as I was soon to discover, there were many others.

My mother had purchased her plot many years before, so we were not faced with that cost, which like the price of residential real estate varies by location. Generally, grave sites are more expensive downtown than in the suburbs. For example in the Greater Toronto Area, they range from $3,000 in Oakville to as much as $25,000 in downtown Toronto. That doesn't include the cost of a headstone or marker.

We did however, have to choose a casket, and there were many options with different prices, depending on the materials used (wood, steel etc.). We settled on a simple pine casket at a cost of $3,900. At that point, I thought we were almost done. I was wrong. These are some of the additional charges we were presented with:

When the funeral home presented the invoice, I had sticker shock on top of my post-traumatic shock. Because I'm an accountant (and auditor) by training, as a rule I always look over an invoice, whether it's for something small like a restaurant meal or something much more material like a car. And I often catch mistakes. But in the state I was in, less than 12 hours after getting the devastating news of my mother's death, I didn't do my usual thorough review of the invoice. As a result, I didn't question any of the costs of this "distressed purchase."

The funeral home requested payment in full by the next day, which was the day of the funeral and burial. Did they accept credit cards? I believe they let us put around 15% of the total invoice on a credit card, but the rest had to be paid by cheque. I had to use my line of credit to cover it — luckily I had one for emergencies such as this. Eventually, there were funds in the estate to cover the nearly $13,000 cost.

There were probably less expensive alternatives for a simple and dignified funeral and burial that were more reasonably priced. I just didn't have time to find them. But since nothing in life is certain except death and taxes, it definitely pays to do some advance planning regarding final arrangements for family members.

Newspaper Article - Getting your affairs in order: Peterborough native writes guidebook

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 12:23:45 GMT

Check out this great article from the Peterborough Examiner explaining how the Departing Details Workbook came to be, and why it's a must to help your family avoid the stress, or even dissension, that can accompany the death of a relative.

Read the article

Enjoy!

How We Chose Our Grave Marker

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 12:26:06 GMT

In 2008, when my husband and I unveiled the first version of Then Departing Details Workbook—originally known in our family as The Doomsday Book—to our two adult children, one of them asked: “Where do you want to be buried? Or do you want to be buried at all?” Despite all our planning, we were shocked to realize that we had no idea.

After a few months of discussion we settled on cremation, with the ashes secured in a bench overlooking the Rocky Mountains at a cemetery near our home in Calgary, Alberta.

Why a bench? After my parents passed away, whenever I visited their gravesite I wanted to stay and reflect but there was nowhere nearby to sit and I always got uncomfortable standing. At the cemetery we chose, we noticed others reading or writing while sitting on grave markers that were also granite benches. We decided a bench marker was the answer. The top lifts off one of the bench legs in order to inter the ashes.

I share this story to illustrate that planning ahead allows you to take your time and carefully evaluate your many options, sparing your family one less task to deal with when you pass away.

5 Most Overlooked Aspects of Estate Planning & Organization

Fri, 10 Mar 2017 13:28:36 GMT

Creating a will, assigning Power of Attorney (ies), and documenting all financials and responsibilities are the building blocks of an estate plan. However, even with a strong handle on all of these essentials, there are many critical components that can easily be forgotten.

1. Updating Your Plan

Creating a comprehensive estate plan is critical and using a tool like the Departing Details Workbook can help alleviate much of the stress. Once this is created, however, it is very easy to forget to update it. A good rule of thumb is that the estate plan is revised after any major life event, such as the birth of a child, the death of a spouse, or a divorce. Keeping your estate plan up to date ensures your wishes are adhered to and your loved ones are taken care of.

2. Leaving Adequate Liquid Assets

Closing an estate may come with some immediate costs, such as attorney fees, estate taxes, and funeral expenses. One of the main reasons for creating a comprehensive plan for your estate is to make it easier on your loved ones, so you want to ensure they aren’t stuck footing the bill. Leave enough of your assets liquid and easily accessible so that no one is on the hook for these foreseeable costs.

3. Considering Retirement Funds

As many individuals hold a large amount of retirement money in tax-sheltered funds, the resulting tax implications after death should be considered. Carefully choosing and naming a beneficiary for these funds is a must on your checklist to ensure that funds are transferred on a tax-deferred basis.

4. Creating a Trust…or Not

Setting up a trust for your assets is a great option if you want to attach specific instructions to an inheritance. If you have young children, for example, you can set up a trust with the stipulation that the inheritance is paid out at a certain age. Trusts can be expensive, however, and you may want to instead consider including instructions for assets within your will. It's recommended you seek professional legal advice when making decisions involving a trust.

5. Purchasing Life Insurance

If you have family that is dependent on you, life insurance is a critical component of your estate plan. With many options for insurance plans, the size of your estate and the stage you are at in life are both important to consider when purchasing.

***

As with every potentially overwhelming component of an estate plan, take each step one at a time. The Departing Details Workbook can walk you through each stage and give you peace of mind; get your copy now.