Preparing for Life and Death

As inevitable as death is, it is a taboo topic which is not often discussed, and many people are not prepared for it. Maintenance Support Central (MSC) sought to help with this through its latest edition of MSC Presents, which addressed the difficult topics of wills, lasting powers of attorney and advanced medical directives.

One of the attendees, Ms Leong, had started thinking about drafting a will. However, after reading recent cases in the news of family disputes over wills, she was concerned about getting it done properly.

Mrs Maheswary Emmanuel, our very engaging speaker for the evening, certainly addressed her burning questions. At the end of the presentation, Ms Leong shared with us that the presentation had been very informative and applicable to her life. In addition, the lively question and answer session gave her other considerations to think about. These included “Where is the safest place to keep my will!” (A place that is known by someone and easily accessible when needed) and “What happens if I leave my will with a law firm and it closes down?”

Of course, another important situation to consider is what happens if you lose mental capacity during your lifetime. How will your wishes be respected? And how will your relatives and loved ones be authorised to handle your affairs? These issues were comprehensively covered during the segments on Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) and Advance Medical Directives. This even led one of the attendees to conclude “No matter what happens, one must apply the LPA”.

Our biggest take away from this is that as much as we do not want these situations to happen, it is always better to be prepared. We hope this gets you thinking about these issues as well!

Stay tuned for our next talk!