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July 10, 2020 T he C olumbia P ress Senior Financial Focus Moments with Adam Miller with Emma Edwards A bit about woxing mirds I learned a new word to share with you: zeitgeist (‘tsītˌɡīst, ˈzītˌɡīst), which means “the general intellectu- al, moral and cultural climate of an era.” (For example, “His songs perfectly captured the zeitgeist of 1960s America.”) Maybe someday someone will write that “The practice of wearing masks captured the zeitgeist of 2020s world- wide.” Can you believe zeitgeist has been around since 1835? And talk about words. Re- cently, I was reminded of the Rev. William Archibald Spooner, who was born in July 1844. He studied at Ox- ford University and went on to lecture there for 60 years, focusing on philosophy, di- vinity and history. He seems to capture the zeitgeist of some of us in our senior years. Spooner was sometimes ab- sent-minded and, because of his strong intellect, his speech often didn’t keep up with his thoughts. He also had bad eyesight. He unknowingly reversed the initial consonant sounds of words and, as a result, they came out differently than in- tended and became known as “spoonerisms.” Among his most famous: “It is kisstomary to cuss the bride,” said while performing a wedding ceremony. To this day, spoonerisms are said by accident or for their humor- ous effect. One of my favorites, which I used to have somewhat mem- orized: Little Ride Hooding Red. “A long time ago, even be- fore Frenjamin Banklin in- vented the Paturday Eve- ning Sost, a little girl named Ride Hooding Red started out through a fick thorest to take a lasket of bunch to her grick sandmother. She was lunning arong, summing a hong, when who should bud- denly surst upon her but a big wown brolf. ‘Where are you going, my metty little praid?’ said the berocious feast.” A few cited in Spooner’s bio include “I have in my bosom a half-warmed fish” (half- formed wish - it is believed he said this in a speech for Queen Victoria). Another, “Go and shake a tower” (Go and take a shower). Some of us seniors who are notorious for stumbling over our words accidently talk in spoonerisms or in oft-repeat- ed colloquialisms. A friend of many years ago used to delight us with her colloquial phrase, “I take and tell you.” We often repeat words and phrases because they’re fa- miliar to us. Some of us (not necessarily seniors) rely on these phrases, such as pen- ny-pinchers, it’s all good, pass the buck, eat my dust, listen you guys, or been around the block a few times. Maybe that’s because we’re old as the hills? 7 Estate planning during a pandemic: Steps to take The coronavirus pandemic certainly has caused concern for many people, particularly in regard to their health and their finances – and these two areas intersect in estate planning. So, if you haven’t drawn up your estate plans yet, or you think they may need to be revised, now may be a good time to act. This suggestion is not strict- ly based on issues of morbid- ity – after all, the vast ma- jority of people who contract COVID-19 will survive. However, even if you nev- er become ill or need to be hospitalized, wouldn’t you be glad to know your affairs are in order? If you already have estate plans, you may need to revisit them if your family sit- uation has changed because of marriage, divorce, remar- riage, new children, new fi- nancial goals, and so on. Of course, estate planning can be complex, so there’s not a “one size fits all” ap- proach. Nonetheless, here are some of the most com- monly used documents and arrangements: • Financial power of attor- ney – A financial power of attorney is a legal document that gives someone the au- thority to conduct your finan- Special columns in The Columbia Press Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards Week 1: History in the Making Week 2: Financial Focus with Adam Miller Week 3: Off the Shelf by Kelly Knudsen Final week: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer cial affairs – pay bills, write checks, make deposits, sell or purchase assets – if you were unable to do so yourself. You can establish the financial power of attorney without giving your representative any ownership in your assets. • Last will and testament – With a will, you can choose how you want your assets distributed, appoint an ex- ecutor to oversee the distri- bution, and name a guardian to take care of minor chil- dren. If you don’t have a will, a court might assume these functions, with results you may not have wanted. • Living trust – A living trust allows you to leave assets to heirs without going through the time-consuming, public and often expensive probate process. Also, a living trust gives you significant flexibil- ity in dispersing your estate. You can direct your trust to pass your assets to your ben- eficiaries immediately upon your death or to distribute the assets over time and in amounts you specify. • Health-care surrogate – A health care surrogate, some- times known as a health-care proxy or health-care power of attorney, is a legal document that appoints a person to act for you if you become inca- pacitated. Your surrogate has the authority to talk to doc- tors, manage your medical care, and make medical deci- sions if you cannot do so. • Living Will – A living will, also known as an advance health-care directive, lets you specify what end-of-life treat- ment you do or don’t want to receive if you become termi- nally ill or permanently un- conscious. Before taking action, con- sult with an attorney and possibly your tax and finan- cial advisors. During a pandemic, you may encounter a special chal- lenge: Documents such as wills and powers of attorney need to be notarized and wit- nessed – and that may be dif- ficult during a time of social distancing and self-imposed quarantines. In any case, if the coronavi- rus pandemic has raised con- cerns about the legacy you’d like to leave, take the time to launch or update your estate plans – you’ll be glad you did. This article was written by Edward Jones and submitted by Adam Miller, financial advisor at the Astoria office, 632A W. Marine Drive. To reach him, call 503-325-7991. Local students receive college honors Three Clatsop County stu- dents have earned honors at Gonzaga University in Spo- kane, Wash. Caroline Kotson of Astoria was named to the university’s President’s List, reserved for students who earn a 3.85 or higher grade-point average. Bradley Rzewnicki of War- renton and Rory Loughran of Astoria were named to the Dean’s List, an honor for those who earn at least a 3.5 grade-point average. Gonzaga is a private Catho- lic University with a student population of 7,500.