I'm Shelly Stokes and I'll be your guide for this course. I am an American living in Chapala. I have been living here as a permanent resident since 2018, and I have experienced many ups and downs during my time here. I am very content and comfortable in my life here, but have also faced many emergencies, including a near-fatal health issue while I was traveling and the death of my husband here in Mexico. Most recently, I had to coordinate emergency help for a friend who was having a cardiac event during his visit here, which just reinforced the need for the plan we are creating in this course. (I'm happy to report that my friend received excellent care and is doing just fine. All good.)

Through this course, I will share a bit about the situations I have dealt with while we are creating our planning documents. I like to keep things light, so please forgive me if I sound a bit irreverent at times. It's a serious topic, but we can still have fun while we go about the task of getting things done.

Finally, whether you live here at Lakeside or somewhere else in this marvelous planet we call home, I hope you find this planning process helpful. I can assure you that it is easier to navigate life's inevitable emergencies with a solid set of documents in hand.

How I got started in this work

A number of years ago, my husband was becoming more and more conscious of how much of the day-to-day business I took care of for the two of us. He was almost 30 years older than me, and he was very aware that if I were to "get hit by the proverbial bus", he was going to be in a world of hurt.

He asked me to put a "book" together that had a complete list of the things that would need to be done if I were suddenly gone or incapacitated. A short list of financial accounts was not enough. He wanted a What To Do When I Die manual, complete with instructions, telephone numbers and forms. And, of course, he wanted me to create the book because all of the information was pretty much in my head and my computer. So...

Over time, I created exactly that. I have a blue binder on my desk labeled What To Do When I Die. And it was the best gift he ever gave me.

When he fell off a ladder at age 91 and suffered an injury that led to his death, I did not have to worry about what needed to be done. I had already made the list. It was waiting for me on my desk.

This allowed me to be completely present during the two weeks before his death, and I am deeply grateful for that gift.

The best gift you can give your family and friends

Today, I invite you to create a book or file box of your own. We are going to call it and Emergency Plan, because it's not just for the end of your life -- it's for the stuff that happens between now and then.

And trust me, it is the best possible gift you can create for your friends and family for today, tomorrow, and the day you leave this life.