I know that dealing with death is not fun. I know that it is scary to even talk about it to some people. However, putting your head in the ground like an Ostrich and ignoring it is just irresponsible!
I have a very sad story that literally happened recently that I thought was worthy of writing about in my blog. Why you may ask? Because it is reality!
A few days ago, I received a voicemail on my cell phone from my old landscaper that we used many years ago. I still have his contact in my cell phone so I knew right away who it was, but could not pick up as I was in a meeting. He left the following message:
“Hi Mr. Rosenberg, it’s …. I do not know if you remember me, I used to do your landscaping and your pressure cleaning some years ago. Give me a call when you get a chance as I saw in LinkedIn that you do handle trusts. So, I would probably be interested in talking about that with you so please give me a call when you get a chance at (xxx) xxx-xxxx. I thank you and bye-bye.”
Later that night I called him back and left a message for him on his cell phone. The next day I left another message for him. After about four days, I figured I would call him again to try and touch base since I did not get a return call. When I made that last call, his wife picked up and asked who I was. I then told her that I was returning his call and she informed me that her husband dropped dead of a heart attack!
He was in his late 50’s. I told his wife the story and she started crying…she had no idea that he called me a day or two earlier to look into a trust and estate plan. Needless to say, he died unexpectedly and without any estate plan!
Here is my point…no one knows when it will be our time. Do you think I was expecting a massive heart attack when I was 48 years old? Do you think my prior landscaper knew he was going to drop dead of a heart attack one or two days after he made a call to me for a meeting?
As my kids like to say, be responsible to your family…do the “adulting” thing you should be doing which is prepare for the worst and hope for the best with your family and your future. In other words, make sure your affairs are in order!
As always, be safe and live well!