We have received a shipment from the Vermont Bar Association of booklets containing information about  planning how your finances will be handled in the future.  Much like the way a "Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare" allows you to decide now how your health care will be handled if you become incapacitated, there are steps you can take now to make sure you will remain in control of your financial affairs, even when you are no longer able to handle those matters yourself.
In order to decide how you want your money and assets to be handled now and in the future, you will need to answer several questions, including such basic ones as:

• What tasks do I want to continue to do myself?
  
• What do I want someone else to take care of?
  
• Who do I want to handle my money?
  
• When do I want that person to start?
  
• What kind of oversight do I want?
  

difficulty thinking clearly. The new booklet discusses some of the alternatives that can be put in place now while still giving you the option of postponing the date when they will go into effect. Planning now gives you peace of mind and leaves you in charge for as long as you want or think is appropriate.
Take your time in deciding how you want your financial affairs to be handled. Unless you are in an emergency situation, take plenty of time to decide which combination of alternatives suits you and your situation the best.
In order to use several of the alternatives described in the new booklet, you will need witnesses who will declare that you appear to be of sound mind and free from duress at the time of signing the documents. You may change you decisions about how your financial affairs are to be handled as long as you continue to be of sound mind. The only way you would lose your right to make or reconsider decisions would be if a court has found you to be incompetent, or to have been incompetent or under duress when you made a particular decision.
The booklets are available from the Bugbee Senior Center at no charge, while the supply lasts. Eleanor Zue, Paralegal, is available (by appointment) on Wednesdays and can help you as you begin to plan your financial future.

For many decades, the Vermont Sunshine Society, a non-profit organization, has been sending free handmade cards and monthly newsletters to people who are shut in or living in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. The mission of the Vermont Sunshine Society is to make sure no one feels forgotten.
All members of the Society are volunteers. All donations received are used to pay for postage, supplies and printing expenses. The Society collaborates with other organizations, including the Bugbee Senior Center, to make the cards and prepare the cards and newsletters for mailing.
If you know anyone who might enjoy receiving  cheerful, encouraging mail once a month, please send their name and complete mailing  address to "Vermont Sunshine Society", 225 Plateau Acres, Bradford, VT 05033.
If you would like to participate in preparing their mailing each month (folding the newsletter and labeling the colorful, handmade envelopes) at the Bugbee Senior Center, just give us a call at 295-9068 and we'll add you to our list of mailing volunteers.