Aunt Lana
Aunt Lana in the middle. My Aunt Jeanette and my father on either side.
My Aunt Lana passed away this past April. She lived in Aurora, CO. She had no children and I was the oldest of her nieces and nephews. A couple of years back she asked me if I would assume her various Power of Attorney responsibilities including the position of Co-Personal Representative for the execution of her will. I had a little trepidation in accepting this responsibility, but decided to take it as an honor that she trusted me with her affairs and potentially with her life decisions. Besides, there would be no need for this until some far off date! At that time she was only 63…
Aunt Lana as a teenager
Aunt Lana was diagnosed with possible kidney cancer early this Spring. She had various tests and went into the hospital for a biopsy and hopefully to have the cancer removed. To the best of my knowledge, everything went well with the surgery. They removed the cancer and she was released to return home. The Doctor deemed the surgery successful. She complained of some pain, but that was expected. She passed away just a few days later on April 9th, just four days before her 65th birthday.
Aunt Lana, "Hahahahahaha…."
I have several reasons for sharing this. First and foremost is to tell you that Aunt Lana was a lurker on this blog. She never posted a comment, but she generally sent me emails with comments on what I had written. They were always positive and often tinged with her signature humor and her standard sign-off, “Hahahahahahahahaha…” I miss hearing from her.
Aunt Lana's Yearbook Picture
My second reason is to explain to any other lurkers and clients that might peruse this blog, why I’ve been a bit distracted lately. Posts here have slipped as well as other things, both personal and professional, as I’ve dealt with this. As you may well guess, there are emotional issues from the unexpected loss, issues with responsibilities of being her Personal Representative and the physical issues of trips to her home in Colorado and dealing with the personal things she left behind. Colorado requires that a Personal Representative on a will be a resident, so I am Co-Personal Representative with her friend Peter, in Aurora. Peter has been extremely helpful. He obviously was a good friend of Lana’s and I think I can count on him being a personal friend when this is over. My parents have also been helpful, making two trips to Aurora to help sort and pack her things. The rest of the family has been supportive in various ways as well. I have heard many horror stories about these things and I have been pleased that my family has not given me any of those to tell… so far… (And I can hear Aunt Lana, “Hahahahahahahaha…”)
Aunt Lana and "The Boys". Her dogs were her life.
And lastly, some tips. Aunt Lana lived alone with her dogs. Those dogs were her life. In the end she failed to make arrangements for the pets that meant so much to her. While she left me with some instructions regarding her personal things, they were not extensive. If you don’t have a will, consider that this is something better done sooner rather than later. Aunt Lana left me with some tough decisions to make. I am doing my best to follow what I would believe to be her wishes, but I am guessing at best.
As I mentioned previously, Aunt Lana had named me as her Power of Attorney. One of the responsibilities included administering her Living Will. Fortunately I did not have to exercise those powers. If you don’t have a Living Will, you should have one. If you do have one, you know that the document is somewhat vague. Lana’s Attorney provided her with a Living Will Value Assessment that allowed her to answer questions based on various health scenarios. While it wouldn’t make the task easy and it can’t cover every possible scenario, it gave me a lot of insight into her thinking and would have made the difficult decisions easier. (I have it in a PDF file if anyone is interested. Contact me with an email address and I will send it out. I still haven’t figured out how to link things other than pictures to the posts! <sigh!>)
I’ve also learned a few things about Life Insurance. Aunt Lana took out a policy that named me as beneficiary. It was taken out at about the same time that I was named as P.A., so I assume that she did this in order to make sure I had some money for expenses. Life insurance is outside the estate and can be paid in as little as 10 days from when the company receives the death certificate, while it took nearly 8 weeks to gain access to the accounts due to various filings with the State. It was only a $5,000 policy, but it would have covered some of the immediate expenses. Unfortunately there was fine print with the contract. Since she passed away within 24 months of starting the policy, all the policy would do would be to return the premiums paid. In reading the terms of the policy, I was quite surprised that she would have paid more than the $5,000 value within 6 or 7 years, but the policy would not mature for 30 years! Not the best value! It was particularly interesting that this was a policy endorsed by AARP.
This is a learning experience for me. I’ve learned things about my Aunt that I didn’t know. I am learning about the process of tying up the loose ends of one’s physical life. I would hesitate before accepting this responsibility from someone in the future and I would definitely quiz the individual before hand. I am already pestering people that have asked me to serve as their Medical Power of Attorney to fill out the Value Assessment. Hopefully all this will help me leave a more organized estate, but you never know. Procrastination is very convenient when dealing with decisions about your death. It’s not like it’s going to happen tomorrow… right? Right???
First National Bank of Monterey Facade Changes
First National Bank pf Monterey with New Taller Parapet
We have continued to work on the Annex addition at the main branch of the First National Bank of Monterey. The new MR-24 Standing Seam Roof on the existing building (previously discussed here) required the extension of the parapet wall on the front facade. We were able to find black panels similar to the existing and have custom formed aluminum spacers to mimic the existing panels beneath them. The effect has been to enhance the look of the existing entrance and is actually quite striking.
New lower facade on the First National Bank of Monterey Annex
For security, it was decided that the first floor facade of the Annex should be infilled with brick. Brick similar to that used on the bank was used for continuity. The existing columns and decorative trim was retained as well as the stone steps. In the picture you can see that the center step is well worn by over 100 years of foot traffic.
First National Bank of Monterey Logo on the Annex in Monterey
The bank’s logo, an overlaid F, N & B, were custom fabricated by Titus Inc.from specifications created by Easterday Construction Co., Inc. The letters are steel and were factory painted in the bank’s signature colors. They are bolted through the brick wall. The bolts holding them include 2″ spacers giving the logo a three dimensional effect. Framed by the existing columns, the logo helps tie the two buildings together.
A Garden Court for Culver (part II)
Culver Garden Court Article from the June 18, 2009 addition of the Culver Citizen
A special meeting of the Culver Town Council was held on June 9, 2009 to discuss the possibility of a Garden Court in Culver next year. As discussed earlier here, I had approached several property owners around Town about the potential for a Garden Court project on their land. I was given the opportunity to discuss it with several of them and one, Mr. Wade McGee, has chosen to pursue it with us. Mr. McGee and I met with the Town Council on the 9th and discussed various goals including water extensions, sewer extensions, fire protection, annexation, rezoning and future plans for that property as well as the adjacent properties. Some members of the Plan Commission and the BZA attended that meeting as well and the implications regarding their various needs and requirements were also discussed.
All and all the meeting went well. In premise, it was agreed that Mr. McGee would continue to work with Garden Court on their proposed facility and would request annexation, while the Town Council agreed to extend water and sewer to the property and to support the rezoning of the property from S-1 Suburban Residential to R-2 Residential. This change is in keeping with the Comprehensive Plan and with other goals currently being pursued by the Town Council.
Following that meeting was the regular Town Council meeting. At that meeting, Reverend Liechty, President of Garden Court, Inc., renewed their request for the Town Council to support the new Garden Court for Culver and to renew their financial pledge towards the project. A letter was requested verifying that a Garden Court would be acceptable on the proposed property. All these things were agreed to by the Council.
It looks like we’re moving forward!
Easterday Constuction set a New Record Today…
Record Display created by Easterday Construction for the Culver Boys & Girls Club Fundraiser
Carol Zeglis commissioned the construction of a display piece for use at the Boys & Girls Club Fundraiser. She wanted a large “Record” that guests could walk through. This goes with the Fabulous 50’s theme they are using for the this evening’s event. She wanted something substantial that could be repainted and used again in the future. The picture shows it in place at the Culver Academy’s Multi-purpose building during preparations for the event.
We designed this based on concept pictures and design discussions with Mrs. Zeglis. We constructed this using an expanded foam interior wrapped in a plywood veneer. It is divided at the top and has removable bases. In the picture, it is shown before the bases were installed. It has rope lighting accents around the inner edge. The diameter of the circle is over 12′ and the record stands approximately 9′ tall. It is approxiately 19″ thick. Schoberg & Schoberg from Plymouth did the painting that makes it look like a record. (Nice job Martha!)
Fundraiser Cafe' Tables made with tops donated by Easterday Construction.
This is also the event where our table tops will be put to use. They dressed up pretty nicely with table cloths on them! These were previously discussed in our blog here.
I was pleased to see the party set up and it’s unfortunate that I won’t be able to attend. There seemed to be quite a few interesting auction items and it looks like a good time will be had by all!
Best of luck to Carol and all the organizers. We hope their efforts are rewarded. The kids they are serving deserve our support.
Culver Boys and Girls Club Fundraiser
Fabulous '50s Fundraiser for the Culver Boys and Girls Club
The Culver Boys and Girls Club is having its annual fund raising event at the Culver Academies on Friday, June 19th in the Multi-Purpose Room. The theme this year is “The Fabulous ’50s”. Support the kids and have a great time at the Fabulous ’50s Silent Auction & Party. Enjoy food, beer, wine, and cocktails from local restaurants all while having the opportunity to bid on exciting silent auction items from vaction stays and sports tickets and memorabilia, to orginial works of art. See a special performance by acclaimed hula hoop artist Kara Vogt and cheer on 11 local celebrities as they compete in a spirited hula hoop contest. Tickets are $40 each or 2 for $75 and may be purchased in advance or at the door.
This group does a wonderful service helping Culver Youth with after-school activities, homework help and general good citizenship. For more information regarding the event you can visit their site here. There is also a silent auction and they have pictures of many of the auction items at the website as well. There are also opportunities to sponsor events.
If you go to the event you may be sitting your drink on one of the 9 cafe table tops donated by Easterday Construction Co., Inc. for the event. We sent those out last week for assembly by the table base makers. We appreciate all the efforts of the volunteers that run this organization and were pleased to be able to help with this event.
