Ananda Janaka Newsletter February 2022

A close friend who died recently had named me the Executor of her Will. Since I now have had a direct experience of what this means, I thought it would be helpful to share this with you.

First of all, here is the planning that my friend and I did a number of years before her death:

• She completed her Will and named me her Executor.
• We talked about who she was leaving things to, and why.
• I was a co-signer on her banking accounts for several years before she passed.
• She had completed an Advanced Directive form, and we discussed what she would like done with her ashes. She also asked that I and a few others plan an Astral Ascension ceremony for her after her passing.
• And lastly, we sat in her home and made a list of things that were special to her, and that I would give to people she had known.

But, my friends, this was only the beginning!

Closing down the life of a person you have known needs to be looked at as an act of love. Since they are no longer able to take care of their affairs themselves, the Executor, and in this case the friend, agrees to act on their behalf. So here are a few of the things that I needed to do for my friend:

• Deal with all the belongings of a lifetime, and the cleaning out of a home.
• Arrange for a cremation with the mortuary, and order the death certificates which are legally required to act on the behalf of the deceased person.
• Social Security and Medicare are usually notified of a death by the mortuary, but do ask!
• Notify Credit cards, and Credit agencies, so there is less potential for Identity theft.
• Pay off final bills, which can take up to a year or longer to do.
• Send to the family any records, photos, and other items that they might like to have.
• And file the final tax documents for the year in which the person died.

There are, of course, many more things to do depending on the kind of estate planning a person has completed and the kind of assets they owned at the time of their death.
Some of the things in this process may go fairly quickly, but others simply take time. In some ways it feels like a process that has a life of its own.
But if these things can be done in a spirit of love and service, then all will undoubtedly go more smoothly. This process, which does take time, can also be a way to remember the soul and to gradually accept their transition in death, as each part of their life is closed.
I hope this information can be an inspiration for you to move ahead with your own planning, remembering that your Executor will be the one to close up your own life.

For further information, contact Parvati Hansen at Contact Us.

We are always happy to hear from you.

In divine friendship,

Parvati Hansen
Executive Director
Ananda Janaka Foundation

Sample Language to include the Ananda Janaka Foundation in your will or other planning.