The Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA), in partnership with Hospice of Michigan (HOM), recently published the second edition of the resource manual, Financial Affairs: At the End of Life. This updated edition is designed to help families with loved ones in the final stages of life, as they are often overwhelmed with financial and estate planning documents and responsibilities.
“People don’t have the documents they need, and don’t know where to look to find them,” said Judy Trepeck, a member of the MACPA Financial Literacy Task Force and Board of Trustees for Hospice of Michigan. “This guide gives them the tools.”

Financial Affairs: At the End of Life walks families through key areas such as organizing financial information, decisions to be made about dependents, retirement accounts, business succession, and meeting immediate and future financial needs of family members. It includes a list of helpful tools and documents, electronic links and other resources including a chapter to help people find the appropriate resources and referral sources such as CPAs, attorneys, and financial planners. The resources provided are available to individuals with and without Internet access.

When should people begin going through the guide in order to best prepare? “Yesterday,” Trepeck said. “The reality is that it’s not just an end-of-life discussion. Working on this manual was eye opening for me. If I could take all the information and documents I have and put them together in a folder, it’s the best thing I could do for my children or my parents.”

Financial Affairs: At the End of Life is available free-of-charge via download or regular mail. CPAs can obtain copies of the manual, electronically or in hard copy, to provide to clients.

Trepeck was recently named HOM’s Outstanding Volunteer, and will be recognized at the organization’s 24th Annual Crystal Rose Ball on October 2, 2009.

“It’s not about the people they give awards to, it’s about recognizing what hospice and palliative care does for people,” Trepeck said of winning the award. “It gives them a better quality end of life. People have lived longer and lived better than they would have without hospice and palliative care, and that’s a really wonderful thing.”

To obtain your copy of Financial Affairs: At the End of Life, visit www.michcpa.org or call the MACPA at 248.267.3700.