Mets Day 277 - On Estate Planning

When I was diagnosed with metastatic cancer on May 15, 2012, I understood that the cancer likely would be my cause of death.  I already had read and understood that there was a 88-90% chance that urothelial cancer in the lymphatic system would spread, most likely to my spine, lungs, or liver, and that I would not live longer that 5 years.  Dr. Steinberg acknowledged those statistics when he discussed the pathology report with us on May 15, but also emphasized that there was no way of knowing whether, when, or what the disease would do to my body.  The doctors at GW, Hopkins, Fox Chase, and NIH, all have told me the same thing.  The odds are not in my favor, there is no established medical treatment for microscopic metastatic urothelial cancer, but I'm young, I had surgery very quickly after the chemo failed and the cancer had metasized, and a lot of lymph notes were removed.  The common theme of the doctors was that I should live my life as best I can, and focus on the joy in each day.  Death comes to all sooner or later.  In my case, it's likely to be sooner than later.  I am reconciled to these facts. 

One might expect that, in the face of these facts, that I would be motivated to revisit my estate planning, look at my will and trusts, and pull together all of my financial information.  While I have done pieces of that, I have not completed all that I should.  Whether I've been focused on my recovery from surgery, or returning to work, or pulling together information for the insurance companies, or planning our family vacation, or just plain avoidance, I have not been eager to work on estate planning. 

This morning, Jennifer and I sat in the hot tub and talked for about an hour about financial issues, real estate, and touched on estate planning.  We decided that it made sense to put our lake house up for rent this summer, and also explore the possibility of selling it.  Since I have decided to live life at an accelerated pace, doing so likely will involve more travel and other experiences different from going to the lake house.  The lake house has served its purpose for a decade; time to let others enjoy it.  We also talked about whether we should sell our Great Falls house, and decided that we should not do so in the near future.  After the nest empties in 2016 or so, we (or Jennifer, if I'm gone) likely will downsize.  We talked about whether Jennifer would want to buy elsewhere, or rotate around different parts of the country, renting month to month while visiting family, especially while the kids decide where they will settle.  We also discussed insurance, our current financial status, my negotiations with my law form regarding 2013 compensation, and several other issues.   

With that conversation fresh on my mind, I read a New York Times story that reinforced what Jennifer and I talked about this morning.  The story talks about a woman in Seattle whose husband was killed in a biking accident, and how she had to struggle to pull together all of her family's financial information.  She started a web site that collected all of her experiences and lessons learned.  Her web site also has a link to a useful Wall Street Journal list of 25 documents you need before your death, and also to a BBC booklet, Planning a Good Death.  After reviewing all of this stuff, I'm slightly more motivated than before to revisit my estate planning. 

For starters, I'll list what I've done so far, then I'll list what I need to do:

Estate planning already done for Jennifer and myself, in 2000:
Signed will
Signed revokable trust

Signed irrovokable life insurance trust
Signed advanced medical directive
Signed durable power of attorney
Lawyer's letters of instruction

More recent estate planning done in the past 6 months:
Transfer to Jennifer of all custodial accounts, including education savings accounts
Compilation of all financial information, including statements for all accounts, revenue sources, bills paid, and login information and passwords

Estate planning I still need to do:
Have the 2000 wills and trusts and other documents reviewed and updated as appropriate
Make sure all property is properly titled
Better organize recent financial records, statements, etc.
Continue to educate Jennifer and kids on financial information
Write letters of instruction

Other legacy stuff to do before I die:
Personal letters to family members
Organize personal history, journals, pictures, videos, etc.

I'm sure there will be other things I'll think of as I go along, but this gives me a good idea of what I need to do now.