Tararua Reap workshops all about getting your ducks in a row

Rozanne Jensen and Julie Walker want to make sure people know what to do to get all their ducks in a row. Photo / Leanne Warr

It's one of those subjects that tends to be considered taboo, but is inevitable for everyone.

Having heard stories of missing wills and problems cropping up when a family has lost a loved one, Rozanne Jensen at Tararua Reap felt it was something that needed to be talked about.

Getting your Ducks in a Row is a series of workshops being run in Dannevirke providing information about what to do when it comes to end-of-life plans.

Subjects at the workshops included wills, funerals, advanced care plans, insurance and grants.

Jensen, who along with Julie Walker had worked in banking, said she had come across different stories of people who had experienced issues after having lost a loved one.

She said there was one lady who had lost her husband but while he had a will, he hadn't told her where it was.

"We see it in our personal lives. Everything can be tickety-boo and all of a sudden they lose a parent or a loved one.

"They don't know whether they've got wills or they don't know where the bank accounts are and stuff like that."

Jensen said while the workshops were designed to give people information, they were more about information-sharing.

Some of the participants had already shared their experiences in previous workshops.

"There have been some really good stories out there," Jensen said.

The workshops also included guest speakers who were involved in the various fields, such as a solicitor, or a funeral director.

Jensen said the guest speakers were professionals who would be able to answer any questions.

She felt it was important because she'd seen it in some families where someone had passed away and no one knew where things were.

"People plan for their holidays, and they plan for their retirement, for this, that and the other thing, they plan for if they win Lotto, but they don't tend to plan for the inevitable. You're going to die. It's going to happen and a lot of people don't think about it."

The final workshop would also have participants making up a book where they could journal everything and put all necessary documents in one place.

Jensen said getting a plan in place also helped relieve some of the stress involved.

"When you pass, you've passed. It's up to the family to arrange things, and they've got to have time to grieve."

She said getting affairs in order, or having a folder with everything the family needed to sort it all out, meant the family did have time to grieve.

"They can pick up the folder and go 'I know exactly what they want'."

Jensen hoped the first series of workshops would generate enough interest to keep them rolling over so they could be run on a fairly regular basis.