Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) can be valuable tools for building retirement income—but they can also create significant tax implications at death if not thoughtfully planned. In Canada, when someone dies, the full value of their RRSP or RRIF is generally treated as income on their final tax return. This means the entire amount…
This article was summarized from a video by Suzanne O’Brien, Founder of The International Doulagivers Institute, and guest Adam Daviau. From an early age, many men are taught how to be strong in ways that leave little room for tenderness. “Don’t cry.” “Keep it together.” “Handle it on your own.” These messages are often offered with care, yet over time…
This article was written by Reena Lazaar from Willow End-of-Life Educators, summarized by Margaret Verschuur When someone dies, this is how it often unfolds: A number is called. Often it’s a funeral provider the family already knows, or the one the hospital suggests. Someone arrives. Your person is taken away. And then—silence. For many families, the next time they see…
In British Columbia, families currently have only two legal options for human disposition: burial—either traditional or green—and flame-based cremation. In contrast, other provinces and many U.S. states have expanded their offerings to include more environmentally responsible alternatives, while BC’s options have seen little change. In some communities, including ours, we are fortunate to have access to green burial. Natural burial…
“I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly …” -Mary Oliver What is a shroud, what does this look like today, and why are more people choosing it? For most of human history, the dead were not enclosed in elaborate containers. They were wrapped. A shroud—simple cloth folded around the body—has been one of the oldest…
As life has grown more complex, so has the process of dying. End-of-life planning is therefore more important than ever. While it can feel overwhelming, the time and care invested now can greatly reduce stress, confusion, cost, and conflict for loved ones later. At its core, end-of-life planning involves attending to two broad areas—your possessions and responsibilities, and your health…
In the Mel Robbins Podcast episode What Nobody Tells You About Grief and Loss, host Mel Robbins speaks with renowned grief expert David Kessler about the true nature of grief and how to navigate it in a way that honours the experience rather than minimizing it. David Kessler, a bestselling author and one of the world’s leading voices on grief…
The holiday season can be especially difficult when you are grieving the loss of someone close. Whether the loss is recent or happened long ago, this time of year often intensifies feelings of grief. Holidays are woven with tradition, memory, and togetherness, and when someone is missing, that absence can feel sharper than at other times of year. Activities that…
This article is summarized from “A Practical Guide for the Worst Day of Your Life” written by Christa Ovenell, Death’s Apprentice Education & Planning. I hope you never need the information in this article. But if you’re reading it in the midst of a loss — or preparing yourself just in case — I want you to have a steadying…
How we think about death is not fixed—it’s shaped by the stories our culture tells us about what it means to live and what it means to end. The way a society understands death reveals much about what it values in life. In our modern Western world, death is often seen as a full stop, an end point, a curtain…