The Discomfort -- and Necessity -- of Legal Documents

There's something very sobering when you realize you've come to a point in life where you must make preparations for when you're no longer here. A and I have been talking for several years about the need to prepare our wills, take care of guardianship issues relating to E and MB, and (for me) prepare a living will. We kept talking, and we kept talking, and we kept talking -- and nothing was ever done.

Last night, we decided that that would be priority one for us this morning, and so we sat down together and finished everything. A had had to prepare a living will just prior to her heart surgery a few years ago, but it was something I had never done before -- and it took me a long time to finish it, despite the fact that it's a very short form. There's no right or wrong answer for these sorts of things, but I knew what I needed to do; it was simply a matter of being overwhelmed by the enormity of what I was doing.

Yet when it was finished, there was a tremendous sense of relief -- it's done, and we no longer have to worry about these sorts of things. For me, there's no longer this nagging worry in the back of my mind about how the girls will be taken care of in the event something happens. Surprisingly, we could also prepare for care for our cats; seems like there's nothing that a lawyer can't help you prepare for these days!