Friends guide people on later life planning
Twenty-nine million people are at risk of not having their affairs in order when they die
Leiston Meeting is shining the spotlight on ‘preparing for the unexpected’ by helping people to plan for after their deaths.
The event on 18 March follows Leiston Meeting’s recent fundraising for St Elizabeth Hospice. All proceeds for this event will also go to the local hospice.
Introduced by Rachel Sloane, a retired BBC presenter, the event will feature Nigel Hughes, a charity founder, who will talk about his experience of surviving cancer. He will be followed by Norfolk priest Matthew Hutton, who in a previous life was a probate solicitor.
According to the Co-op’s Planning for Death report last year, almost three-quarters (seventy-two per cent) of respondents haven’t made a will, with about half (fifty-one per cent) saying this is because ‘they haven’t got round to it yet’. Meanwhile, twenty-nine million people (forty-five per cent) are at risk of not having their affairs in order when they die, due to a reluctance in discussing their own funeral wishes. The study also revealed that twenty-two per cent of people think about their own death weekly, and fifty-five per cent at least monthly.
Rose Barber, from Leiston Meeting, welcomed the event, saying there were talks she wished she’d had with family members. ‘I am so pleased we are hosting this new event that we hope will be useful to many local people and the wider community in Suffolk. While many deaths are unexpected, even in later life, I feel it would be helpful to plan ahead. When that time inevitably comes, our family and friends would be better able to deal with the aftermath, both practically and emotionally. There are conversations that I wish I had had with loved ones while they were with us. After our event, I would hope we could all be better prepared for life’s unexpected twists and turns.’
The event in Leiston is sponsored by the East of England Co-op and local law firm Birketts.
