Writer Catherine Rahal joins me today to chat about her new guide and workbook for one aspect of estate planning, If You Love Them Leave Them Lists. Available in French under the title Vous Aimez Vos Proches? Laissez-Leur Des Listes!
Bio:
Catherine Rahal was born in the post-war wreckage of Berlin, Germany, grew up in the eastern United States, and followed her late husband to Montreal 1982. Personal tragedy and financial disaster early in life motivated her to pursue work as a personal financial advisor from 1991 through 2018. Rahal is a published writer whose personal finance columns have appeared on the Canoe Money website and in the Montreal Gazette. Certifications in elder planning along the way became the catalyst for working on ways to simplify important decisions for those of a certain age. Since ‘retirement’ is not in her vocabulary, the book took shape soon after she’d seen clients for the last time, with other projects in the pipeline.
Welcome, Catherine. Please tell us about your current release.
The book is a guide to help people put together the information that will be needed by their power of attorney, healthcare and financial proxies, and executor. Completing the lists at the back of the book may also help facilitate those necessary family conversations.
What inspired you to write this book?
My husband died very young but much was handled by lawyers, as he died in a commercial airlines accident. When his brother died a few years later, I learned that he’d left a notebook for his wife, with the information she would need to move forward. That stuck with me. As a financial advisor, I saw what was happening in the families of my clients, and I eventually served as POA, mandatary, and executor for an old friend. Over the years I saw similar documents, but realized that much was missing and they often lacked a personal touch. We set out to rectify that. By “we” I mean myself and my designer collaborator, Wendy Moenig, without whom the book might not exist, certainly not in its present form.
Excerpt from If You Love Them Leave Them Lists:
Through personal experiences and what I have learned from clients, I have seen that many of us plan for marriage, houses, children, vacations, retirement — everything except old age. We need to change that. We can’t plan for every eventuality, but we can set guidelines for our wishes. We can record the information our designated representatives will need to act in our stead, whether we are incapacitated or have left the living behind. And it doesn’t hurt to check out a few residences — even if you never end up in one.
What exciting project are you working on next?
My paternal grandfather was a wonderful, profound, painter. My father did not take up the legacy project of bringing his work to the public, leaving it instead for me to do. I am currently working with a legacy collections specialist to see what can be done. There may be an art book in it – eventually. And I don’t think it is fair to pass the work on to the next generation.
I also have plans for more writing, though likely not another guide like this one.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I have been writing as long as I can remember, but only became published in the late 1990s, early 2000s, when I wrote personal finance columns for Canoe Money and the Montreal Gazette
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I don’t write full time, but I try to find sometime most days to put down ideas. I am currently in the process of following my own advice and have embarked on a thorough cleanout of my place. I don’t want to leave a mess for my kids to clean up.
This book, though in the works for years, finally came to life during the Covid pandemic.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Not sure how interesting it is – I tend to be wordy, and to use a broad vocabulary. I always have to whittle it down. Better at non-fiction – my forays into fiction have been so banal that even I didn’t want to re-read what I’d written. Perhaps I haven’t yet found the right characters.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I had several choices, including medicine, art, and writing. Never thought I’d end up as a financial advisor, but life threw in some difficult moments which influenced my direction.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
This is a book that no one really wants, but just about everyone needs. Even if you think you have nothing for your survivors to deal with, there is always something to take care of once you are gone.
My website www.catherinerahal.com contains more information, and all buy links are there.