Kathryn Perks is encouraging people of all ages to buy her "end of life" planner to plan ahead. Photo / Warren Buckland
Kathryn Perks is encouraging people of all ages to buy her "end of life" planner to plan ahead. Photo / Warren Buckland
A Hastings-based woman says death is inevitable and it pays to be prepared.
Kathryn Perks has created an "end of life" planner When I Die, designed to help people have everything recorded for their family or estate executor to help with the administration of their estate when they die.
Perks'idea about the planner came about when her own mother died in 2009, and she realised how ill-prepared she was for all she needed to know and how uncertain she felt about the choices she had to make.
"I was in Australia at the time. I came back and it was a stressful time even though my mother was organised," Perks said.
"She had left us no guidelines regarding her funeral service. Luckily we were all in agreement when it came to selecting hymns and readings, but what if we hadn't been?
"There was a house full of her possessions to sort through so that it could be put up for sale. As none of the family lived close by, this all had to be done as a matter of urgency, it soon became clear it was going to be a challenging task.
"In fact, it was overwhelming."
When I Die is a planner designed to help people prepare for their death or the death of their loved ones. Photo / Warren Buckland
It was then Perks saw the need for a place to record personal details and end of life requests, and When I Die was created.
"I went back to Australia for four years and came back to New Zealand in 2013. I had the idea about the planner and worked on a draft," she said.
"Initially I created the workbook/planner, to write and record things, for myself. Things like who to notify, bank accounts, any funeral plans, preference on how to dispose of your body, pages for your life story etc.
"I passed the idea around friends and family who were all encouraging, and those I spoke to who had lost parents, said how they wished there had been something similar available to them so they may have been more sure their choices were what their loved ones would have wanted."
Perks said she always believed in the planner and could see there was a need for it for people who went through similar experiences where they didn't know what their loved ones wanted.
"I don't think people are prepared for it [death] at all. For most people it's just never the right time, and for some it's a topic too sensitive to raise," she said.
"The planner, which has just had its fifth edition printed, is a tool in which to record all the 'extra bits' that may not be recorded in your will.
"So far people who have bought the planner are predominantly over 65, but I want to encourage the younger generation to buy it, and chip away at it, as well.
"I want to stress the importance of the need to have 'the' conversation, because time catches up with everyone."
