The Art of Death: Preparing the Way for Those We Leave Behind
A Five-Part Series featuring The Stuff, The Numbers, The Law, The Body, and The Service
Saturdays, 10:00am to Noon
January 4, 11, 18, 25, February 1
Pre-register online HERE. A $25 materials fee strongly encouraged on the day of.
Session 1: The Stuff. Dealing with the stuff: moving, downsizing and decluttering. While this deals with the actual stuff in your home, there is also emotional baggage regarding hanging on to the stuff. We will talk about the practicalities, as well as the emotional side of getting rid of things. We will have a resource list of who will take your unwanted items from Goodwill to Mary’s Place and any other places we can find.
Session 2: The Numbers. We will start building a death binder where you can collect all the information that those you leave behind will need to know. We will cover the financial information, names and contact information of the professionals you deal with, passwords and logins for your digital assets and banking information. We will also talk about the personal information that you want to document, such as a family tree, dates of births, deaths and anniversaries.
Session 3: The Law. There are legal issues for you to consider both before you die and what happens to your assets after you die. We will cover titling assets, living trusts, powers-of-attorney, and planned charitable giving. We will also cover choosing an executor and what to put in your will. We will talk about beneficiaries of retirement plans, annuities, and life insurance policies, as well as who is subject to Washington state estate taxes. If there is time, we might also cover special needs trusts and Medicaid planning.
Session 4: The Body. This will cover the things you should do before you die with respect to how you want to be treated before death including the health care power-of-attorney, advanced directives, and physician’s orders for life sustaining treatment (POLST). We will have the forms available to review and fill out. We will also talk about what you want to happen with your body after death – burial, cremation and ashes, donating body to science and maybe more.
Session 5: The Service. We will talk about planning a celebration of life, funeral or memorial service, including when and where to schedule, who participates, what music and who speaks. There will be time to review possible Bible readings and songs and write down your wishes.
Sunday Seminar – 1st Sunday of each month, 11:45 am to 1:00 pm
Our Sunday Seminar series explores topics of spiritual, religious, and cultural significance in an intimate, seminar setting (small gathering for learning and conversation).
Past Seminars include:
- June 2nd, “Love is a radical act”* Reconciling Queer & Christian Identities. Come join Ves Pacher for a lively conversation about what many people might believe to be conflicting identities. Bring your curiosity and your questions. (*Song lyric from hip hop artist, George Watsky)
