Aug26
One Thing to Do Before You Die
Posted at 02:18 PM | Permalink
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It just goes to show that you have NO idea how long you've got. And to keep the cheery theme alive, consider all the people who have become paralyzed by falling off their mountain bikes, etc.
You can't lock yourself in your room, and even if you did, you could be hit by a chunk of toilet ice falling out of a plane and through your roof, struck by lightening as you took a shower, or … well, you get it. Life is fleeting. In fact, that's been a theme of mine for a while. In Making Kind Choices, I wrote about how amazing it would be to have a wristwatch that would tell you not what time it is now but how much time you had left so that you could know what's important to cram in. You'd look at it and see "40 days, 3 hours, and 2 minutes," and you'd think, "OMG! Better get a move on!"
So ask yourself: Are you putting off asking that special person for a date, telling your friend you are sorry for some remark that ended your friendship, or, most importantly … buying vegan groceries? Wouldn't you rather die than have your last meal on Earth cause animals fear, pain, and death?
Oh, and Dave Freeman took this stuff seriously (yes, he didn't fully "get it," seeing as how he went to Pamplona and ran with—shouldn't that be "against"?—the bulls), so he had made a will. Now some of his leftovers, including some useful money, will go to a children's charity. Good for him! Please follow his lead and put a charity—may I suggest PETA?—in your will, too, or else the state rather than animals will benefit from your death (and you know they'll only use the money to buy something stupid).
Posted by Ingrid Newkirk
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Everyone, no matter how old you are, MAKE A WILL!!!!! Go to an estate attorney or look up info online. It doesn't cost much. But just do it!!
So much money just gets sucked up by lawyers and probate court, as well as estate taxes, because people thought nothing would happen and never made a will.
And make an animal charity like Peta a full or partial beneficiary. The money should help the animals, not the government.
Another way to help the animals is to make a life insurance policy beneficiary an animal charity like Peta. Most people get life insurance through their work too. Just go to Human Resources and write in the charity as beneficiary (be really careful to get the name and address right)
Can also do this with investment accounts too like retirement accounts.
For older people, a lot of animal charities also have annuity programs if you just write or call and ask.
Posted by: kelly | August 26, 2008 02:59 PM
You can also name an animal charity as the OWNER of a life insurance policy when you first get it (or change it now.)
You still pay the premiums if it is a non-work policy, but if an organization like Peta is the listed OWNER of the policy, then if something happened the proceeds would go right to them instead of through probate court.
Posted by: kelly | August 26, 2008 03:02 PM
Good advice, kelly.
Though I'm very pleased with my numbers when I go to the doctor, I didn't go veg for that reason. Even if I only live as long as the average meat-eater, that's okay. Being veg to me means a very happy conscience.
Anybody who hasn't listened to the PETA Podcasts, should lend an ear. They are all excellent!
Posted by: Mike Quinoa | August 26, 2008 06:29 PM
Hi Indrid! When I die, I'll make sure at least 75% of my investments & properties goes to PETA. ;-)
Posted by: Niranjan Amarnath | August 26, 2008 08:06 PM
who do I make the cheque out to, Ingrid Newkirk?
Posted by: Johnson | August 27, 2008 10:49 AM
Great advice! Ingrid, you're such a great blog writer! Anyway, I'm getting ready for today's circus demo that I'm organizing. I hope I don't die before it gets here!
Posted by: Curtis | August 27, 2008 12:29 PM
wonderful suggestion! not only should we live our life to the fullest but we should do so with the least impact on animals and the earth.
This will be our legacy.
And why not also make sure animals get our money when we die. every little bit counts, even if we're not rich, anything we own, any money in our bank accounts could go to charity, we just have to name one (PETA!) as a beneficiary and/or have a will.
I've already made PETA a beneficiary of my retirement account. If I die before using it, i would want nothing more than that money to do the work I could have done, if I was still alive, to stop animal suffering.
Posted by: rachel | August 27, 2008 03:27 PM