Page 16 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, JAnuARy 13, 2023 W ith today’s edition, [insert name of newspaper] begins coverage of the 2023-2024 Massachusetts legislative session with our weekly Beacon Hill Roll Call report. This feature is a clear and concise compilation of the voting records of local state representatives and senators. Beacon Hill Roll Call provides an unbiased summary of bills and amendments, arguments from floor debate on both sides of the issue and each legislator’s vote or lack of vote on the matter. This information gives readers an opportunity to monitor their elected officials’ actions on Beacon Hill. Many bills are reported on in their early stages, giving readers the opportunity to contact their legislators and express an opinion prior to the measure being brought up for final action. The feature “Also Up on Beacon Hill” informs readers of other important matters at the Statehouse. Beacon Hill Roll Call is writBeacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen ten and provided by Bob Katzen, a former Boston radio talk show host at WRKO, WITS and WMRE. Bob has been providing this feature to hundreds of newspapers across the Bay State for 48 years, since 1975. Bob invented the “Bagel Route” when he was 10 years old. It’s like a paper route but Bob took pre-orders from neighbors and delivered bagels every Sunday morning. GET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO MASSTERLIST: Start off following the 2023 Legislature with something - LEGAL NOTICE - CITY OF EVERETT that you will read every weekday morning. There aren’t many things out there that are free and valuable. But MASSterlist is a rarity. Join more than 22,000 people, from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens, who start their weekday morning with MASSterList—the popular newsletter that chronicles news and informed analysis about what’s going on up on Beacon Hill, in BEACON | SEE PAGE 17 Sa nr Sa a y Senior by Jim Miller A Ch kli A Checklist of What to Do When a Loved One Dies Dear Savvy Senior, What steps need to be taken after a loved one dies? My 71-year-old uncle, who’s divorced with no children, has terminal cancer. He’s asked me to take care of his aff airs so I would like to fi nd out what I need to do after he passes away. Unsure Nephew Dear Unsure, I’m very sorry to hear about your uncle. The death of a loved of can bring about a host of different tasks and responsibilities. Here’s a list of some things you can do now, and after his death, that can help keep a sad event from becoming even more diffi cult. Before Death Occurs There are several tasks you can do now while your uncle is still living that will make things easier for you after he dies. For starters, fi nd out where PUBLIC HEARING FOR PETITION FROM MASSACHUSETTS ELECTRIC COMPANY D/B/A NATIONAL GRID OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS To all parties interested in the public hearing. Be it hereby ordered: Massachusetts Electric Company d/b/a National Grid of North Andover, Massachusetts that it desires to construct a line of underground electric conduits, including the necessary sustaining and protecting fixtures, under and across the public way or ways hereinafter named. The following are the streets and highways referred to: Plan # 30676294 Boston Street - National Grid to install beginning at a point approximately 80 feet southeast of the centerline of the intersection of Boston St and Revere Beach Parkway and continuing approximately 100 feet in a northeast direction. Install 2-4” conduits 100’ +/- from existing pole #3148 on Boston St to customers property at 1690 Revere Beach Parkway for new service. Wherefore it prays that after due notice and hearing as provided by law, it be granted permission to excavate the public highways and to run and maintain underground electric conduits, together with such sustaining and protecting fixtures as it may find necessary for the transmission of electricity, said underground conduits to be located substantially in accordance with the plan filed herewith marked: Boston St - Everett - Massachusetts. Hearing to be held with the Everett City Council, held on Monday at 7:00PM, on the 23rd of January, 2023 at the Everett City Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, Everett City Hall. January 13, 2023 he keeps all his important papers like his trust and/or will (also make sure it’s updated), birth certifi cate, Social Security information, life-insurance policies, military discharge papers, financial documents, key or combination to a safe deposit box or a home safe. Also make a list of his digital assets (including usernames and passwords) like his email account, online banking accounts, social media accounts, etc. If your uncle doesn’t have an advanced directive, help him make one (see CaringInfo.org for free state-specific forms and instructions). An advanced directive includes a living will that specifi es his end-of-life medical treatments and appoints a health-care proxy to make medical decisions if he becomes incapacitated. In addition, you should also make a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. Your uncle’s doctor can help you with this. You should also pre-arrange his funeral, memorial service, and burial or cremation. Immediately After Death Once your uncle dies, you’ll need to get a legal pronouncement of death. If no doctor is present, you’ll need to contact someone to do this. If he dies at home under hospice care, call the hospice nior f Wh Seni ior D nurse, who can declare his death and help facilitate the transport of the body. If he dies at home without hospice care, call your uncle’s doctor. You’ll then need to call the funeral home, mortuary or crematorium to pick up the body. If your uncle is an organ or tissue donor, contact the funeral home or the county coroner immediately. Within a Few Days If funeral plans were not pre-arranged, you’ll need to make arrangements and prepare an obituary. If your uncle was in the military or belonged to a fraternal or religious group, you should contact those organizations too, because they may have burial benefi ts or conduct funeral services. You should also notify family members, close friends and his employer if he was still working, and make sure his home is secured. Up to 10 Days After Death To wind down your uncle’s fi nancial aff airs, you’ll need to get multiple copies of his death certifi cate, which are typically ordered by the funeral home. If you’re the executor of your uncle’s estate, take his will to the appropriate county or city offi ce to have it accepted for probate. And open a bank account for your uncle’s estate to pay bills, including taxes, funeral costs, etc. You also need to contact your uncle’s estate attorney if he has one; tax preparer to see if estate or fi nal income taxes should be fi led; fi nancial advisor for information on fi nancial holdings; life insurance agent to get claim forms; his bank to locate and close accounts; and Social Security, the VA (if he’s a veteran) and other agencies that provided benefi ts in order to stop payments. You should also cancel his credit cards, delete or memorialize his social media accounts and, if relevant, stop household services like utilities, mail, etc. His home and personal belonging will also need to be dealt with in the coming weeks. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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