National Law Week – Wills – Important to update – Know where kept!

May 13th, 2012

In the calendar of national events, here in Australia we celebrate National Law Week from the dates of 14-20 May.

The aim of the week is to encourage and build awareness and promotion of the law, the legal system and the legal profession with the theme of this year being Law and justice in your community.

As part of driving home this awareness a number of relatable articles have appeared in the press and here I would just like to mention two of them, ‘Time to update your will’ (1) and ‘When it’s crucial to find the will’ (2)

In the first article residents were encouraged to organise one of the most important legal documents anyone over the age of 18 should have, that being a will.

The main thrust of the article went on to say that if you passed away without a will, your estate, made up of items of sentimental and monetary value, may not be distributed according to your wishes, and you could leave your loved ones with unnecessary financial and legal headaches.

The article concluded with the line, “This Law Week we are encouraging all adults to put excuses aside and make the time to organise their will.”

It reminds me of the constant encouragement that we have had drilled into us by the electricity companies to change the batteries in our smoke detectors at the cessation of every daylight saving period. To get it into our heads to do it on a regular basis, without question or dissent.

The second article majored on the need to ensure that the current will could be located as and when needed.

Several anecdotal stories were featured, such as the one of the lady who had informed her children that her will was kept in the bedside table, but when she passed away, much to her relatives dismay it was not there.

Another one related to the father who had done the right thing and had given his children enduring power of attorney and had also made sure that the power of attorney was safe by having it locked away in a bank along with the will.

The problem only surfaced when the father lost his capacity and the bank refused to release the safe custody box until the family could produce the power of attorney, which of course they couldn’t as it was locked inside the box alongside the will.

A further situation was also mentioned, which on more than the odd occasion has caused anguish for surviving family members, related to a later will being discovered some time following probate being granted and the estate proceeds being disbursed.

We can boldly state that both articles reinforce the value of our site as being a great repository for the above information, for as we commented in a reply to the first article,

‘We could not agree more, but we believe that you need to go further and let those who need to know where your will and other important documents of your life are kept as well.

That is where our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au comes into play. (3)

To experience the value of our site we invite you to enjoy a 12 month free trial, just key the following words, Free Trial into our Promotions box on the Sign up Now page of the site.

Then sit back and relax, knowing that you have peace of mind in that you have done the right thing for both yourself and your loved ones’.

Now that the matter of having a will and ensuing that others know where it is located has been addressed, it would be amiss not to spend a moment to discuss some additional action to ensure that your will will also survive any legal challenges that may be mounted.

For your consideration we list the following eight points that you may wish to take into account.

(a) You need to keep in mind that one of the safest way to protect your wishes is to have a trusted solicitor draw it up and supervise the witnessing.

(b) You need to be sure that the wording is clear and legal for the state in which you reside, and that should you expect a challenge then consider adding suitable clauses to counteract it.

(c) You need to do your own homework and self check to be sure that you are deemed competent to make a will and that you are not under anyone’s influence.

(d) You should consider having the execution of your will recorded by some media advice, either audial or video.

(e) You need to reread your will slowly to ensure that it actually says what you require it to say, and that you understand and agree with every word in it.

(f) You need to ensure that you have appropriate witnesses available and that they are happy to have the witnessing recorded as per item (d).

(g) You need to make sure that the witnesses remain together during the entire signing and that you sign the document in front of them.

(h) You consider having the witnesses each complete a self proving affidavit. (4)

A final thought is to remember that your will is primarily about money and that experience shows that money tends to make people act in unexpected ways.

References:

(1) Article in the Liverpool City Champion, Wednesday May 9, ‘Time to update your will’

(2) Article in the Tweed Coast Sun, Thursday May 10, ‘When it’s crucial to find the will’

(3) www.wherethereisawill.com.au

(4) www.survivorshipatoz.org/cancer/articles/how-to-protect-your-will-against-challenges/

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Friends in need – What great friends indeed!

May 6th, 2012

In an article titled, ‘Friends in need – paw-fect match for the lonely, disabled’ that appeared on page 31 of this weekend’s edition of The Courier Mail, the theme was that the anecdotal evidence provided by two interviewees provided first hand proof that animals in general are able to provide great comfort to and assist the facilitating of an individual to once again feel needed and worthwhile regardless of the current hand that life has dealt them. (1)

This same outcome was also promoted by Echo Wang in an Ezine article when he commented that having an animal to bring some life and laughter to a person in need often provides a great rewarding feeling. He then went on to say that  throughout life many times a person just needs to have a ‘pick me up’, as that while sometimes people may find themselves without family or friends handy to lean on it is here through having a pet to sit with or to talk too can just be the right medicine required to bring happiness to their eyes again. (2)

This got me thinking as to the value that the medical profession in general places on the use of pets in the recovery process of patients in their journey towards better health.

A quick Google search brought to my attention a short article that appeared in the internet world of seniors.gov.au, the over 50 site for Australian residents. This article stated that Pet Therapy, also known as Animal Assisted Therapy was the use of trained animals and their handlers to achieve specific physical, cognitive, social and emotional goals with people and patients requiring care and that either pet ownership or visiting therapeutic animals can have a range of benefits.

The article went on to say that pets may motivate and encourage the elderly to stay healthy, to exercise and to give them a feeling of being needed. It was also observed that motor skills can be improved or learned with the assistance of an animal trained for pet therapy, and that this can make a major difference in their comfort, progress and recovery. (3)

Turning to another source, this time from the Critical Care Nurse site, an October 2003 posting headed, ‘Family and Pet Visitation in the Critical care Unit’ the article stated in part that when an animal or pet visitation occurred with patients that the anecdotal evidence was great and that stories of people getting out of bed or moving or speaking for the first time when their pet or a therapy dog visited were numerous. It was acknowledged however that many of the benefits were hard to measure due to the subjective nature of each of them and that research is therefore quite difficult. However having said that, research already done has shown benefits of decreasing heart rate and blood pressure and increasing skin temperature, indicating relaxation from petting a companion dog.

Other studies suggest that people experiencing stress, either acutely or chronically, may benefit from short term interactions with their pet that serves to focus attention away from the stressor to a more pleasurable, calming interaction. The somewhat lengthy article concluded by observing that critical care nursing is more than just meeting the physical needs of the patient. Promoting interaction between critically ill patients and family members and/or pets provides a basis for psychological support interventions.  The beneficial effects documented in research are limited to the immediate impact. Actual benefits may be far more reaching for the patient, family, child, and even the nurse. (4)

A further article, ‘How animals help people – The healing power of pets’ under the sub heading, ‘ Animal Assisted Therapy with cats and dogs’ stated that we all know that dogs can become an invaluable companion for the blind and partially-sighted, and the ‘hearing dog’ for the hearing-impaired and deaf is also familiar. However, this is just the beginning of a long list of roles that animals can play in helping humans who are emotionally damaged or physically impaired in some way.

Here are some of the ways in which cats and dogs help humans in need:

Working with abused children and women — e.g. Katie the Golden Retriever is a ray of sunshine in the lives of residents of a domestic abuse shelter.

Helping to ease the fears of patients in hospitals — e.g. Maverick the Yellow Lab is a gently reassuring presence at the bedsides of stroke victims.

Being a friend to HIV/AIDS patients and giving them a positive focus — e.g. Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) helps those with disabling illnesses to obtain the companionship a cat or dog can bring.

Forming a bond with children with autism — e.g. Clover, an animal shelter cat, became a patient and loving companion for a small autistic boy, and was the one member of the family he could relate to.

Comforting the elderly and working with Alzheimer’s patients, helping them to access emotions and memories. — e.g. Lilly, an orange-white long-haired cat, has brought great comfort in a time of pain and emotional distress to a terminally ill patient.

Then we should remember that the most famous nursing home cat is Oscar who is said to have predicted the deaths of many elderly patients. (5)

This then begged the question, ‘Well what is being done to help alleviate the current situation?’.

I am glad to report (and here I can only speak for Australia) that a non profit  organisation by the name of Delta Society Australia and having the motto of  ‘Helping dogs help people’  has seen their volunteers and their dogs visit over 500 hospitals, care facilities and schools across Australia every year. Before a volunteer and their dog can be accepted into the programme both must undertake some close examination. For the owners they will need to pass a police check while their dog must undergo a very intensive temperament testing.

The criteria for a dog to be included in the programme covers such areas as age, current vaccination shots,  good manners and above all else, be able to pass a number of reactions to such things as exuberant and clumsy petting, raised voices, staggering and gesturing, being bumped from behind, held by a stranger, crowded and petted in all situations that they are likely to encounter at some time during a visit.

A further test is also done on the level of understanding between the dog and the volunteer. The tests are said to be quite rigorous and that there are always some disappointment for owners whose dogs fail to ‘make it’. (6)

Lastly, and here I need to state that this is one where we have a personal interest, is our business site www.wherethereisawill.com.au, as situated within our site is a section that deals with pets and within that section it also allows the printing out of a ‘Pets Card’  enabling you as the owner to be able to store it in your wallet or purse for ease of identification etc, should a need arise. (7)

So there you have it. In a nutshell we believe that like all of the anecdotal evidence mentioned above, that animals, if given the right circumstances, can play an extremely important role in ensuing that our well being is maintained to the best for all concerned.  To this end we even encourage folk to join the FaceBook group site, ‘Pat Your Pet Day’ where we encourage animal lovers to share the love that they have for their pets with the rest of us. Should you so wish, we would love to welcome you as a member of that site. (8)

Resources:

(1) https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150813222034242&set=a.10150574926254242.401690.341403194241&type=1&theater

(2) http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Do-Animal-Assisted-Therapy-Pets-Help-Patients?&id=650989

(3) http://www.seniors.gov.au/internet/seniors/publishing.nsf/Content/Pet+therapy

(4) http://ccn.aacnjournals.org/content/23/5/62.full

(5) http://www.squidoo.com/pets-for-therapy

(6) http://www.deltasocietyaustralia.com.au/Volunteers/Become

(7) http://www.wherethereisawill.com.au

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Posted in Cards for your Wallet, Caring for Pets, Personal Health / Personal Wealth, Pet care, Wills and Estates | No Comments »

Hook, line and sinker – Be careful what you swallow, no matter how tempting!

April 27th, 2012

5 things every blogger should know about spam

1. Web spam is different from email spam.

Email spammers want you to buy their product. You are the target of the ad contained in each email spam you receive. Comment/web spammers want your readers to buy their product. You (the blogger, author, moderator) are not the target.

2. Web spammers are social engineers.

Email spammers write messages to get your attention. Comment spammers write messages to escape your attention. They want you to believe they are real bloggers, real people, writing real comments, so you’ll approve the comment and publish it on your site. They use flattery, appeal to your good nature, and simply lie in order to convince you to give them the benefit of the doubt.

3. Web spammers are basically advertising on your blog..

..and they’re keeping all of the profits. They’re not even asking your permission first. Right now someone is offering to sell links from your blog to anyone willing to pay a few dollars (or a few cents). If your blog is well known, it may even be listed by name, with backlinks for sale at a set price.

4. It’s all about the backlinks.

Web spammers are selling links from your blog to their clients. They do this to game the search engines and trick your readers into visiting dubious web sites. Their clients are sometimes seemingly harmless, but are often peddling fake pills, porn, scams and malware. Sometimes they’ll use “buffer sites” – that is, innocent looking web pages intended to disguise the fact that they’re really advertising something more sinister.

5. Spammers employ humans.

Not all spam is delivered by spambots. Spammers are increasingly using humans to write and post comments by hand. Typically they are exploiting low-paid workers in internet cafes, schools and factories. Sometimes they are viral marketers paid to promote a new product. Either way they are trying to exploit your blog for their profit – and hoping to do it without you noticing.

The above article comes from an email that I received from Akismet, a hosted web service that saves you time by automatically detecting comment and trackback spam.. (1)

The only time that I like being taken for a ride is when I am either by myself, with my wife or family, or with friends and I am either driving them to a sight that I wish to show them or alternatively one that they wish to show me.

The times when I don’t appreciate being taken for a ride are the times when someone is trying to take advantage of me for their own benefit without any regard as to my feelings or even support for what they had done, during that brief relationship that they have tried to establish with me.

The same also applies when I post a blog that relates in part to our business website www.wherethereisawill.com.au.

When a blog is posted, it is cast into the big pond that is the internet, and then I wait to see if someone takes the time to firstly read the post and then secondly to post a comment. Now that comment may be either supportive, critical or one that asks a question to flesh out more from the contents of the post..

Regardless of how a person may respond, I have always taken it seriously enough to read their comment, assess the worth of their reply and then make a decision as to how I should respond, bearing in mind that my goal is never to put down a response but to be uplifting and positive in my reply to their comment.

With that in mind you have no idea just how shattered I felt when it was brought to my attention by a couple of readers that most of the replies that I had received in response to my blogs were considered to be spam, and not legitimate responses at all. I just could not believe it, and to think that after spending time reading all the responses, over 2,000 of them in three months, that most of it had been for naught.

Not only that, it also appeared that the spam was from sites that many folk would consider as being inappropriate to visit, especially for a person under the age of 18.

Yes, I had been taken hook, line and sinker. I was like a fish in that pond thinking that the worm swimming in front of me was for my dinner rather than it being just the bait to reel me in and to leave me high and dry on the bank and at the mercy of the one holding onto the fishing line, or in this case the spammer.

My immediate reaction to this was to post the following comment on the FB page of our business site, with a duplicate comment being posted on my personal FB page as well. (4)

‘It is such a shame. The reason that I say this is that I have been informed that there have been responses to some of the blogs that we have posted, from sites that if you click on their web address will lead back to what many would consider as being inappropriate for many of us.

I have requested Heather Maloney, our internet guru to source out a suitable plugin that can be used to eliminate these sites from getting through with their messages. (2)

In the meantime we would ask that if you read any of the responses to our blogs that you do not take it any further than that.

I am a great one for giving people the benefit of the doubt, but what has happened here is that in no small part we have been taken advantage of and I do so not like that.

I will also be reporting this to the FaceBook folk as I sure do not want to see any aspect of our unique site being curtailed in any form whatsoever due to the mischievous actions of a minority of people.’

Following on from the above post, we have now installed the plugin Akismet with the assurance that the majority of scammers should be stopped at the border, so to speak, and prevented from getting through to even cast their rod of disruption.

For as Akismet says of itself, ‘Akismet monitors millions of blogs and forums, watching the methods and tricks used by spammers in real time. We know all about their spambots, comment factories, buffer sites and social engineering tricks. Akismet will use this knowledge to warn you when a spammer – automated or human – tries to sneak a spam comment past you. So if you notice a comment in your spam folder from someone you don’t know, or linking to a web site you’ve never seen before, take a good look at it before you hit the Unspam button: in all likelihood, Akismet put it there for a reason.’ (3)

The moral of this post is to make sure that you don’t get caught, hook, line and sinker and that you ensure that you be careful what you swallow, no matter how tempting!I

One final word, if you appreciated this post we would be pleased if you would help our cause by ‘liking’ the FaceBook page of our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au. We only ask this as it appears to be a Google thing of some importance.

References:

(1) http://akismet.com/how/

(2) http://contactpoint.com.au

(3) http://akismet.com/how/

(4) http://www.wherethereisawill.com.au

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Posted in Asset Protection, Cards for your Wallet, Caring for Pets, Emergency Situations, Funeral Planing, Organ Donations, Personal Health / Personal Wealth, Pet care, Sport, Superannuation, Wills and Estates | No Comments »

‘One cap fits all’

April 16th, 2012

This was the heading across a banner promoting involvement at all ages with Surf Life Saving Australia.

For those of you who are not aware of this marvellous aspect of sun, sand and surf, this is an iconic multifaceted movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport that commenced here in Australia early last Century following a gradual change of public attitudes towards daylight swimming as Australians began to embrace in numbers the ocean as a site for recreation, along with a response to a number of drownings at local beaches in Sydney.

The impact of the change of Government thinking had a dramatic response towards beach culture with beachgoers entering the surf in rapidly escalating numbers and enjoying the previously unknown experience of being up to neck deep in water and loving it.

The downside of this is that due to this new experience many people found themselves inadequately prepared for the forever changing movement of tides and the non awareness of the danger that many sea creatures offer the unsuspecting bather, and no doubt this was the forefather of the thinking behind the current slogan, ‘If we cannot see you, we cannot save you’, that is used to remind swimmers to enjoy the water but to also swim between the flags that mark the boundaries of where the life savers patrol, as outside of that area surf boards definitely take over.

For their part, surf lifesaving clubs provide important surf rescue services on weekends, public holidays, and here in Queensland full time in what the State Government has termed loosely as being holiday travel destinations, of which the area recognised as The Gold Coast certainly stands out.

Today, surf lifesaving clubs regularly hold surf carnivals where clubs compete with each other in a range of beach and rescue orientated events involving elements of surf swimming, board riding, sand running, surf boats and mock rescues in order to hone their ability to respond to any incident that may arise, as without being prepared, a swimmer is immediately disadvantaged as the saying, ‘If you want to swim with dolphins then you also need to prepare to swim with sharks’ certainly comes into play.

So where are we heading with this, only to say that it is important that we learn and take advantage of what the surf clubs provide for the individual beach lover, and then translate that into all aspects of our lives when it comes to utilising what is available to us through mentors, self help groups, peers and professionals as a starter.

While I believe that it is never too late to commence to put this into practice, and as our heading of ‘one cap fits all’ implies, it is also never too early to commence as well.

One site that has been set up with the sole aim of providing people with peace of mind in both a material and mental way is www.wherethereisawill.com.au and I would certainly encourage any of you who may be interested in improving yourselves, and to give you a kickstart in doing so, we are inviting you to test out the full arena that our site encompasses by inviting you to join as a cost free client.

Should you wish to take advantage of this offer, just go to our home page and make sure that at the foot of the Sign up Now link (on the left hand side of the page) where it says, ‘Promotion’, that you type the following two words – Free Offer. If you do that then the client area of the site is all yours for as long as you would like to be with us, for no cost.

It is a great offer, but that is just how we are,for as like the surf lifesavers, we want you to take advantage of all we have to offer.

One final word, if you appreciated this post we would be pleased if you would help our cause by ‘liking’ the FaceBook page of our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au. We only ask this as it appears to be a Google thing of some importance.

Resources:

(1) www.sis.com.au

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surf_lifesaving

(3) www.wherethereisawill.com.au

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It can happen sooner, rather than later!

April 6th, 2012

‘There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from’, a quote attributed to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, author of the best selling book ‘On Death and Dying’.

The premise of the book is that when it comes to pre knowledge of a terminal illness, given an appropriate time frame a person would work through the following five stages that she identified dying patients experienced: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and then finally Acceptance.

It was said that right throughout her working life, from commencing as a hospital volunteer in WW11 until she retired from her psychiatric work in 1995 it was always the concern for the patient that was at the heart of her ministry. In fact she was also quoted as saying, ‘If we can teach our students the value of science and technology, simultaneously with the art and science of inter-human relationships, of human and total patient care, it would be real progress’.

It is acknowledged that what she was able to achieve in her lifetime in no small measure helped revolutionise how the medical community cared for the terminally ill.

But what happens when circumstances step in and intervene in the natural flow of human expectation of time. What then!

Well, I believe that often panic occurs and takes over proceedings.

A recent example of  a sudden change in circumstances was seen in the collapsing on the pitch at White Heart Lane of the 23 year old young Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba early last month after having a heart attack. As reported by the Telegraph, London, Muamba was playing for a club that has long been at the vanguard of sports science, and that he inhabited a world where health checks are relentless, where medics are on standby during training and matches, where defibrillators hang on the wall of stadium tunnels and referees react quickly at the first hint of a problem. (1)

And yet as a result of that heart attack Muamba lay critically ill in a London hospital for more than two weeks and it was only today (06/04) that his manager Owen Coyle made a statement saying that the young midfielder, although still in hospital, is making an incredible recovery and has taken his first steps.

‘When I went to see him last week, he was able to walk around his room. He’s come out of the bed and sat in the chair. That was a week ago. And bit by bit the improvements are coming. God willing he gets back to a high standard’.

However, here in Australia, we were not so fortunate.  On the 20/03 the sporting world said farewell to a champion footballer of a different code. Jim Styne the Brownlow Medal winner, Melbourne Demons champion and former club president, lost his brave two and a half year battle with cancer. The 45 year old played 264 games in a famous AFL career after joining the Demons from Ireland. (2)

Born in Dublin, Jim Stynes was one of the most remarkable stories in the history of Australia’s home grown football code. He was recruited in the mid 1980s by Melbourne as part of what was commonly known as the ‘Irish Experiment’ and went on to become the first international player to win the Brownlow Medal in 1991. He also holds the AFL record for the greatest number of consecutive games – 244.

He was awarded an Order of Australia in 2007 and was Victorian of the year in 2003.

So where are we heading with this, only to say that under normal circumstances it would have been expected that both men would have gone on to live healthy and fit lives but as you can see from the above, for these two gentlemen fate had other plans for them.

For Jim Stynes, fortunately for him time permitted him to be able to work through the five stages as defined by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, as it was reported that in his last week he attended the Melbourne v Hawthorn football match, his son’s 7th birthday celebration, the MFC Blazer Ceremony and a casual Friday night dinner in his much loved suburb of St Kilda.

For Fabrice Muamba, well he still has that opportunity too, for no doubt, he would have certainly been doing a lot of thinking during his recovery time in hospital.

But let’s now bring it even closer to home, what about you?  Are you prepared should anything untoward happen to you?  Do those who need to know where everything is, do indeed know where everything is?  Have you organised your affairs in relation to a legal will and other associated paperwork?

That is where our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au can assist, as in through utilising the various elements of our site you can ensure that you are able to relax having provided for yourself both mental and material peace of mind, that not only will bring a calmness to you life but also a relief and sense of security to those who are the closest to you.

So remember, as one wag posted on Facebook, ‘I will never regret getting old. I know too many people who have never had that privilege’. (3)

Resources:

(1)  Photo of article, ‘I look at Fabrice Muamba and I think, “That could have been me.”‘ Page 18 of SportsDay liftout, The Sydney Morning Herald 20/03/2012 with a copy also posted on the Facebook page of www.wherethereisawill.com.au under the date of 06/04/2012

photo.php.jpg

(2)  http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/flood-of-support-comes-for-melbourne-demons-football-legend-jim-stynes-as-his-cancer-battle-continues/story-e6frf3e3-1226304711069

(3)  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Where-there-is-a-Will/341403194241

One final word, if you appreciated this post we would be pleased if you would help our cause by ‘liking’ the FaceBook page of our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au. We only ask this as it appears to be a Google thing of some importance.

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Posted in Asset Protection, Cards for your Wallet, Funeral Planing, Organ Donations, Sport, Superannuation, Wills and Estates | 2 Comments »

Talk about giving an arm and a leg!

March 26th, 2012

One of the greatest things that we can do with our lives is to ensure that at the end of our allotted time, that our life can live on in other peoples lives as more than just a fond memory.

Now, while this may be quite a noble proposition, to make it happen requires the involvement of several parties, the chief of which will be your immediate family members.

I can only speak of the situation that relates to us here in Australia and I would certainly encourage you to make enquiries as to the rules as they relate to where you reside, wherever that may be.

Anyway, back to the matter of looking ahead. In Australia you can indicate your wishes to be an organ and tissue donor by either lodging your registration with the Australian Organ Donor Register or by indicating your desire at the time you renew your driver’s licence.

Almost anyone can donate, and while it is true that your age and medical history will be taken into account, one should not assume that they are either to young, too old or even not healthy enough (although death is a bit of a killer in the matter of your ongoing health) for you to offer yourself to others in this manner.

Even if you think that you may not be healthy enough, there is every chance that some of your organs and tissues will be suitable for donation. There are some conditions however that will preclude your desire to assist another person and one of these would be if you were suffering from a transmissible disease such as HIV.

Having said that, even though you may pass the health test with flying colours and you may be in the peak of condition for your age and circumstances, at the time of your demise it just will not happen unless you have the consent of your family.

So how do you get the family members to be supportive of your decision to allow part of your body to live on in the life of another human?

Reality dictates that family members are most likely to agree to your wishes if the matter has previously been raised and discussed with them. Should the matter come out of the thin air, so to speak, they will more likely decline your request, thereby having a minimum of two people disappointed with that decision. Those people being yourself and the other one being the potential recipient of your donated tissue and organs.

So, first things first. Read all you can about organ and tissue donating. Register your wishes on the Organ Donor Register and finally and this cannot be stressed enough, make sure that you inform your immediate family members of the action you have taken, and seek their acknowledgement that they support your wishes.

To ensure that your relatives over the course of time do not forget your wishes, there is another action that you can take, and that is to place a copy of your organ donor registration in a place that is easy to locate. Keeping a copy with your will papers would be one way of achieving this. Another way, is to use the facility of a website such as www.wherethereisawill.com.au to record your wishes.

Either way, on your passing speed is the essence when it comes to your relatives making a decision to comply with your wishes as there is only a limited timeframe available before the window of opportunity to use your bodily parts deteriorates, thereby lessening your offer of assisting another persons life eventuating.

Well, there it is. To be able to donate life to another person is a wonderful gift, but without you taking action now, that gift may end up never being delivered.

To see what you need to do to be a donor, have a look at the appropriate action to take depending on your country of residence.

Go to our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au and look under Useful Links/Organ & Tissue Donations where there is a link to several countries.

As the Australian site, Donate Life encourages – Remember the three D’s, Discover, Decide & Discuss.

One final word, if you appreciated this post we would be pleased if you would help our cause by ‘liking’ the FaceBook page of our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au. We only ask this as it appears to be a Google thing of some importance.

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Posted in Asset Protection, Cards for your Wallet, Emergency Situations, Funeral Planing, Organ Donations, Personal Health / Personal Wealth, Wills and Estates | 4 Comments »

Your life is their future!

March 22nd, 2012

One of the greatest things that we can do with our lives is to ensure that at the end of our allotted time, that our life can live on in other peoples lives as more than just a fond memory.

Now, while this may be quite a noble proposition, to make it happen requires the involvement of several parties, the chief of which will be your immediate family members.

I can only speak of the situation that relates to us here in Australia and I would certainly encourage you to make enquiries as to the rules as they relate to where you reside, wherever that may be.

Anyway, back to the matter of looking ahead. In Australia you can indicate your wishes to be an organ and tissue donor by either lodging your registration with the Australian Organ Donor Register or by indicating your desire at the time you renew your driver’s licence.

Almost anyone can donate, and while it is true that your age and medical history will be taken into account, one should not assume that they are either to young, too old or even not healthy enough (although death is a bit of a killer in the matter of your ongoing health) for you to offer yourself to others in this manner.

Even if you think that you may not be healthy enough, there is every chance that some of your organs and tissues will be suitable for donation. There are some conditions however that will preclude your desire to assist another person and one of these would be if you were suffering from a transmissible disease such as HIV.

Having said that, even though you may pass the health test with flying colours and you may be in the peak of condition for your age and circumstances, at the time of your demise it just will not happen unless you have the consent of your family.

So how do you get the family members to be supportive of your decision to allow part of your body to live on in the life of another human?

Reality dictates that family members are most likely to agree to your wishes if the matter has previously been raised and discussed with them. Should the matter come out of the thin air, so to speak, they will more likely decline your request, thereby having a minimum of two people disappointed with that decision. Those people being yourself and the other one being the potential recipient of your donated tissue and organs.

So, first things first. Read all you can about organ and tissue donating. Register your wishes on the Organ Donor Register and finally and this cannot be stressed enough, make sure that you inform your immediate family members of the action you have taken, and seek their acknowledgement that they support your wishes.

To ensure that your relatives over the course of time do not forget your wishes, there is another action that you can take, and that is to place a copy of your organ donor registration in a place that is easy to locate. Keeping a copy with your will papers would be one way of achieving this. Another way, is to use the facility of a website such as www.wherethereisawill.com.au to record your wishes.

Either way, on your passing speed is the essence when it comes to your relatives making a decision to comply with your wishes as there is only a limited timeframe available before the window of opportunity to use your bodily parts deteriorates, thereby lessening your offer of assisting another persons life eventuating.

Well, there it is. To be able to donate life to another person is a wonderful gift, but without you taking action now, that gift may end up never being delivered.

To see what you need to do to be a donor, have a look at the appropriate action to take depending on your country of residence.

Go to our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au and look under Useful Links/Organ & Tissue Donations where there is a link to several countries.

As the Australian site, Donate Life encourages – Remember the three D’s, Discover, Decide & Discuss.

One final word, if you appreciated this post we would be pleased if you would help our cause by ‘liking’ the FaceBook page of our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au. We only ask this as it appears to be a Google thing of some importance.

Posted in Cards for your Wallet, Emergency Situations, Organ Donations, Personal Health / Personal Wealth, Wills and Estates | 3 Comments »

It all changes after the 31 March

March 20th, 2012

The following is the new wording that will be appearing on the Special Offer page of our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au at the end of the month. Up until then we are happy to welcome anyone as a free client provided that you join via the Special Offer page. As from 1 April, it all changes as you will see if you read further.

Welcome to what we are so proudly pleased to proclaim is a unique internet website.

In a nutshell we offer practical and emotional peace of mind to every person who becomes a client.

Our site is so much more than the name implies, in fact we don’t do wills at all. The name Where There Is A Will was chosen as it represents an important milestone of thinking in the lives of people once they reach their mid forty’s.

In essence, our site is a compass when it comes to where a person keeps any items or documents that they may consider are important to them, as we point to where the item is located. We do not record the content of any document, only it’s location.

But, like so many TV spruikers are pleased to boldly proclaim, with us there is more. Our site also allows you to record your health details as well, with the ability to have a card print out that fits into your wallet or purse that will assist should anything untoward happen, as your core health details are right at hand and immediately available.

Likewise, the same can be recorded for any pets that you may be looking after, as we have a pet card that can be printed out as well.

So as you can see, we offer real and practical peace of mind value to our clients.

In fact we are so pleased with what we have to offer that we encourage you to personally check us out and conduct a test search on our make believe client, Happy Jan DOB 14/02/1954 in order to see some of the range of items that you may consider recording on our site.

Then, if you like what you see, we invite you to join us via the tab at the bottom of this Special Offers link. Normally, our standard cost is Aus $25 for each item lodged, however for a once only payment of Aus $100 you will be able to record and amend as many items with us as you like, for as long as you wish to be associated with us, for this one initial fee.

In addition, we are also offering a bonus gift, if immediately at the time of joining, you also record at least four or more items. We make this offer because we want to encourage you to feel comfortable with us and to experience for yourself the immediate peace of mind that comes with knowing that you have done a great thing for both yourself and your family.

Having said all of that, there is often one giant question that lurks at the back of some peoples minds when considering joining our site and this question relates to the issue of privacy.

Question 13 of our ‘Frequently asked Questions’ section of the site covers this and in part states:

” ..it is important that you understand that everything you record (except for your Account information, and any information recorded in your Private page) will be available for viewing by any successful search.

Should you decide to minimise the viewable information you may prefer to lodge just one item, with that item pointing to the folder/container holding all the details concerning the locations of where your important documents/information are kept.

As a further measure of assurance, you will immediately be sent an email with the details of any successful search returning your details as soon as their enquiry has been made.”

So there it is. I believe that we have a unique and excellent site that offers immediate peace of mind, so weather you wish to record the location of one item or many items we invite you to join and to immediately experience for yourself the peace of mind that comes with personally knowing just how great it feels to know that you have done the right thing for not only yourself but your loved ones as well.

Click here to accept the special offer of our $100 once only membership fee.

One final word, if you appreciated this post we would be pleased if you would help our cause by ‘liking’ the FaceBook page of our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au. We only ask this as it appears to be a Google thing of some importance.

Posted in Asset Protection, Cards for your Wallet, Caring for Pets, Emergency Situations, Funeral Planing, Organ Donations, Personal Health / Personal Wealth, Wills and Estates | 9 Comments »

By getting help today, you can assist with help tomorrow!

March 18th, 2012

Planning now can save you taking risks later in life with your financial future.

Why delay when it is today that you have so many options available for you to consider. Should you delay then external circumstances can then step in which can have the effect of limiting those options that are available for you to pursue in your goal of wealth building. For as they say, ‘Time waits for no man’.

A very reasonable and safe way to go about fleshing out your planning is to consider seeking the assistance of a reputable Estate Planner (EP), to work alongside and with you as you explore the myriad of options and products that are in the market place and all claiming to be the mecca of providing the best solution to your requirements.

So what does an EP actually do to assist you? Well, in a nutshell their role is to provide the means and wherewithal to ensure that your estate is passed onto your beneficiaries in the most financially efficient and tax effective way possible.

This means that your EP should become an ongoing partner in the area of your financial management. You need to have the reassurance in knowing that any changes in the law that have an effect on the choices that you have made are quickly brought to your attention, so like a ship that can change direction by a quick turn of a small rudder, so a quick tweak of your portfolio now may make save you from perhaps a financial shipwreck later on.

Some points for you to consider in relation to having an estate plan:

. It should not be too expensive to maintain;
. It should be easy to administer;
. It should be regularly reviewed, and most of all;
. It should provide a balance between life-time enjoyment of your income and assets while allowing those assets to be preserved for your family/beneficiaries to appreciate on your passing away.

Does this seem like a tall order for you to ask of a FP? No need to answer out aloud as I agree with you, I don’t think so either.

Now as I have mentioned above, there are myriads of options and products that are available for you to consider, and I have provided the references to a couple of links at the foot of this article that you may find worth reading before taking your next step in your goal of achieving your financial security.

But there is also another matter that I would like you to consider, and that is the need for you to have a Will that is so set up as to ensure that your final wishes will be carried out exactly as you want and have worked for in the implementation of your estate planning strategy.

Broadly speaking your will should cover three areas: how some types of your wealth will be distributed, it appoints the person and/or organisation that you have entrusted with managing your estate, and finally it helps to ensure that the estate is handled in keeping with your wishes.

Having then set up your will, the next thing is to ensure that the people who need to know that you have left a will, do indeed know where you have left it.

The answer to this is to use a facility that is easy to access, user friendly and able to be updated at a moments notice 24/7. The on line facility Where there is a Will does just that. It allows you to confidently register details of where all your special documents – such as your Will, Enduring Power of Attorney etc – are kept.

So for peace of mind, plan now for your financial security to avoid paying the price later, and remember that when it comes to wills, your peace of mind is not just knowing that you have left one, it is knowing that others know where you have left it.

References:

Estate Planning – http://www.netlawman.com.au/info/estate-planning-australia.php

Five Levels of Estate Planning – http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2795426

Where there’s a will, there’s more than one way to plan your estate – http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/16/1089694558754.html?from=storylhs

Business site – http://www.wherethereisawill.com.au/

One final word, if you appreciated this post we would be pleased if you would help our cause by ‘liking’ the FaceBook page of our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au. We only ask this as it appears to be a Google thing of some importance.

Posted in Asset Protection, Organ Donations, Personal Health / Personal Wealth, Wills and Estates | Edit | 1 Comment »

Posted in Asset Protection, Organ Donations, Personal Health / Personal Wealth, Wills and Estates | 44 Comments »

A self check worth taking!

March 16th, 2012

In a very personal article, a nurse who worked for many years in the area of palliative care documented the responses people gave when questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently if given the chance to revisit their lives. In their replies she noticed that time and time again the following five common responses stood out:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Without going any further into the article the explanatory points under each heading are well worth the time to read, and in her summing up she concluded by firmly restating that Life is a choice, with the emphasis on the fact that it is YOUR life. Her words were, ‘Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness’. (1)

And that is exactly what I want to encourage you to do, I want you to choose to make a decision. I want you decide here and now that it is way past time that you to gave yourself peace of mind in the area of knowing that if anything untoward was to happen to you, that those who need to quickly access your personal information in an emergency, can do so without fuss or frustration. And as we all know, in such situations, time is of the essence.

Picture the scene, you suddenly faint while out walking, or collapse without warning in a shopping centre. The first thing that the police and/or medical crew try to establish is the identity of the person to whose aid they have come to. By having your health information recorded on a card, enquiries regarding your medical history can be accessed with one quick phone call to your medical practitioner. Having this critical information readily available could make a significant difference e.g. before you have arrived at any hospital the right medication could be available to be administered without delay.

The Where There Is A Will credit card size print out of your key health information is a great way of making it even easier for your loved ones, or emergency services personnel, to get the details they need to care for you.

Now for the nitty gritty nuts and bolts of what is involved, as when it comes to recording details of your medication you can either make reference to the prescribing Doctor or Medical Clinic, or you can record the actual medication and dosage amounts. And here It is important to remember that you always need to update the information either when your medication changes or your treatment has concluded, and with us that is so easy to do. It is just a matter of a couple of clicks on your computer and the printing out of an updated detailed card.

As you are reassured through having this print out card in your wallet or purse you will be pleased to know that we also have one for your pets too. The Pet Information Card is very handy, particularly those who live alone as in the case of an emergency, it will indicate to the authorities that there may be a distressed animal at the person’s residence, and that arrangements may need to be made for the pet’s care while the person is being cared for.

So there it is, the opportunity for you to decide now that you want to have peace of mind in the important area of your health.

So why not check us out at Where there is a Will (2) and if you like what you see, before doing anything else, look at our Special Offer page as you might find yourself pleasantly surprised.

(1) www.ariseindiaforum.org/nurse-reveals-the-top-5-regrets-people-make-on-their-deathbed/

(2) www.wherethereisawill.com.au

One final word, if you appreciated this post we would be pleased if you would help our cause by ‘liking’ the FaceBook page of our site www.wherethereisawill.com.au. We only ask this as it appears to be a Google thing of some importance.

Posted in Emergency Situations, Wills and Estates | 21 Comments »

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