Where There's a Will, There's a Way

cemetery

The proverb where there's a will, there's a way is said to mean that if someone has the determination and desire to do something, they will find a way to achieve it. So, a strong will can overcome obstacles and lead to success. It seems to me that this applies equally well to a different kind of will - a last will and testament. Having one of those will help your heirs overcome legal obstacles and will help you succeed in making sure your estate goes to the people you intended without being tied up in court.

Today my community had a lunch and learn that discussed wills and trusts. We have had two wills done in the past - one when our first child was born, and the second as we neared retirement. They both were filed in Missouri, and it has been weighing on me that things might not go smoothly when one of us dies since we now live in North Carolina. The presenter today confirmed my fear. An out of state will is better than no will, but a death will be incredibly difficult for either one of us without complicating things having to go through probate.

The presentation was very good. I picked up some new information, and some additional things we should take into consideration when we update our will. Or go with a trust, which was not recommended by our attorney in Missouri. But years have gone by and we are in a different jurisdiction, so I'm not sure which direction the new document will go. The sponsoring organization offers a free one-hour consultation to Imagery residents, so I signed up to be contacted for that. This was just the motivation I needed to jump-start the process of updating our estate.

Wrapping up 68 Years of Married Life

Following the funeral of my mother-in-law, we turned our attention to her house and its contents. We were lucky to find in Charles City a company that not only handles the sale of houses but their contents as well. They will remove every last item from the home, and can provide us with a cleaning service as well. I asked the guy where he was when we were emptying out our home in St. Louis last year? What a godsend! We all can simply take whatever mementos we want and leave the rest for them. As we are over 17 hours away and don't want to risk additional Covid Cooties by making the trek again, this is such a great solution for everyone.

After two weeks up north, we began our way home on July 7th, stopping in Lexington for the night. Our son, daughter-in-law and her family were staying in Asheville for the week. We had been invited way before the pandemic came along to join them at their AirBNB in the mountains outside of Asheville. We debated whether or not to stop. We are definitely a higher risk because of the 7 states we have traveled through for the funeral. But everyone there still wanted us to come, so the next day we made our way to Asheville. 

sunset from the deck

We spent two days and nights with the 6 of them, and I have to say it was such a welcome relief to talk about something besides our overwhelming grief at losing both mom and dad within a short time period. We visited downtown Asheville, a local brewery, spent time on the deck overlooking the mountain range, and played games. It was a perfect way to destress.

We arrived home on Friday after a two hour drive from Asheville. How nice to end things with a short amount of time in the car! After 2,800 miles on the road, it was so good to be home. I hit the grocery store early Saturday morning, and now we are self-quarantining on the off-chance that we picked up the virus on our journey.

kayaking on Mountain Island Lake

Sunday morning we took our kayaks out early to beat the heat and the boat traffic. It was a nice, relaxing way to ease back into our Mountain Island Lake lives. There is nothing like home, sweet home.