that does look like a champion, actually. nice specimen.

Probably didn't have insurance.

Now just need a few more to make a  row...

Last year, when we went to Pennsylvania to bring Dad back here to live in an assisted living facility, he had:

1) no will;
2) no medical power of attorney;
3) no legal power of attorney;
4) no long-term health insurance;
5) no life insurance;
6) no burial insurance;
7) no burial plan of any kind;
8) not a dime to his name in savings, 401K, or private pension account;
9) debt and bank overdrafts to the tune of several thousand dollars, which I had to pay to pay for out of my own pocket.

My RP friends, I'm begging you, for the sake of your children and loved ones who will be responsible for your care should you slip into dementia, long-term illness, or worse: get your ducks in a row!! Talk with your family about your wishes should you become incapacitated. Tell them your wishes for your burial, and if you have the means, do a pre-arrangement with your local funeral home and pay for your burial in advance. Get yourself a will and a medical power of attorney. Check into getting long-term health insurance, which can keep your children from going broke should you need long-term care. Get a life insurance policy that will cover burial costs, if you don't per-arrange something.

Every one of these things that you DON'T do creates a financial and emotional burden on your children, the most likely responsible parties!

Dad never saved a dime. He never thought about the future. He never cared about the future, figuring that someone, somewhere, would deal with his mess if and when the time came. He didn't care that it was most likely his daughter, me, who would suffer financial and emotional consequences because of his lack of planning.

Please, please, please, friends, don't lay this burden at the feet of your children. Save your money. Plan for your future, and look deep into it knowing that at some point, you most likely will need more care than you can provide for yourself. PLEASE don't selfishly allow someone else to pick up the heavy, heavy weight of taking care of you on their bank account and not yours. Yeah, ok, maybe you don't trust banks, yaddah yaddah yaddah. Who gives a flying f*ck, when you consider that it's your children who will have to remediate your lack of planning?

Do you want your kids to have to go into bankruptcy because you don't want to save a dime, plan for your future, or look your own mortality in the eye? Are you willing to hang your debt around their necks?