My name is Deborah Dillon and I am the founder of Living Smart Software. I worked as the chief investment officer for a billion dollar life insurance company and later became a partner in a private investment firm. Approximately five years ago I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The doctors said that it was unlikely that surgery would remove all of the tumor cells, resulting in the probability of death at some unknown time in the future.

During the many weeks of surgery, hospitalization, and recovery, I was unable to manage any aspect of my life. I was completely dependent upon friends and family members to care for me and my personal affairs, including running my household, finances, pets, and even my business. Even though I was married, we discovered that my husband wasn’t allowed to pick up my x-rays or other test results; sign for certified or registered mail addressed to me; or even be my insurance advocate when coverage issues arose while I was in intensive care even though I was insured through his employer. There were also many friends and family members who wanted to help me during my recovery but we discovered that they were unable to provide all of the assistance I needed because they lacked the necessary information, instructions, and authorizations that I was unable to provide during this time.

After I was well enough to once again take control of my own life, I had to face the prospect of making end of life preparations. After experiencing the death of a family member who left no information or instructions other than a will, I knew how important it was for me to organize and document the important aspects of my life as well as to leave detailed written instructions for funeral and burial arrangements; designate who I wanted to care for my pets as well as prepare detailed care information for each of them; make a written list of special bequests to friends and family members and put into writing all of my other final wishes and instructions. I knew that by making these preparations I would not only save the people I loved weeks or even months of work trying to put my estate in order, but these preparations would help to avoid possible friction – or worse – between family members trying to guess about my final wishes. Preparing for my death would be the final gift I would give to those I loved.

After sharing my story with others, I learned that what I experienced was all too common – sometimes with devastating results. Like me, most people never think sudden illness or injury will happen to them or those they love. Most people have absolutely no idea how difficult it is for their loved ones (or caregivers) to help them without the necessary tools.

Despite the prediction of death by my doctors, the passage of time and a series of “clean” MRI’s confirmed that my brain tumor had in fact been completely removed. After my experience, I consulted experts on family, financial, medical, organizational, childcare and other matters and created LIVING SMART SOFTWARE. LIVING SMART is a one-of-a-kind software that allows you to easily provide the information, instructions and authorizations that your friends, family members and other care givers will need to care for you and the important things in your life during illness, injury, emergencies and crisis as well as with end of life preparations. Equally as important, even those of us with very minimal computer skills will be able to use this software with ease. It is so simple that you can even choose to just push the “print” button and complete the tool you have chosen to use by hand instead of on your computer. LIVING SMART SOFTWARE allows you to pick and choose which tools are most appropriate for your current circumstances and needs and be easily changed or updated throughout your life to reflect the changes in your life. Although it isn’t possible to predict the unexpected events we will all encounter, we can be better prepared for them so we will be able to give or receive the help needed when it matters most.

My name is Deborah Dillon and I am the founder of Living Smart Software. I worked as the chief investment officer for a billion dollar life insurance company and later became a partner in a private investment firm. Approximately five years ago I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The doctors said that it was unlikely that surgery would remove all of the tumor cells, resulting in the probability of death at some unknown time in the future.

During the many weeks of surgery, hospitalization, and recovery, I was unable to manage any aspect of my life. I was completely dependent upon friends and family members to care for me and my personal affairs, including running my household, finances, pets, and even my business. Even though I was married, we discovered that my husband wasn’t allowed to pick up my x-rays or other test results; sign for certified or registered mail addressed to me; or even be my insurance advocate when coverage issues arose while I was in intensive care even though I was insured through his employer. There were also many friends and family members who wanted to help me during my recovery but we discovered that they were unable to provide all of the assistance I needed because they lacked the necessary information, instructions, and authorizations that I was unable to provide during this time.

After I was well enough to once again take control of my own life, I had to face the prospect of making end of life preparations. After experiencing the death of a family member who left no information or instructions other than a will, I knew how important it was for me to organize and document the important aspects of my life as well as to leave detailed written instructions for funeral and burial arrangements; designate who I wanted to care for my pets as well as prepare detailed care information for each of them; make a written list of special bequests to friends and family members and put into writing all of my other final wishes and instructions. I knew that by making these preparations I would not only save the people I loved weeks or even months of work trying to put my estate in order, but these preparations would help to avoid possible friction – or worse – between family members trying to guess about my final wishes. Preparing for my death would be the final gift I would give to those I loved.

After sharing my story with others, I learned that what I experienced was all too common – sometimes with devastating results. Like me, most people never think sudden illness or injury will happen to them or those they love. Most people have absolutely no idea how difficult it is for their loved ones (or caregivers) to help them without the necessary tools.

Despite the prediction of death by my doctors, the passage of time and a series of “clean” MRI’s confirmed that my brain tumor had in fact been completely removed. After my experience, I consulted experts on family, financial, medical, organizational, childcare and other matters and created LIVING SMART SOFTWARE. LIVING SMART is a one-of-a-kind software that allows you to easily provide the information, instructions and authorizations that your friends, family members and other care givers will need to care for you and the important things in your life during illness, injury, emergencies and crisis as well as with end of life preparations. Equally as important, even those of us with very minimal computer skills will be able to use this software with ease. It is so simple that you can even choose to just push the “print” button and complete the tool you have chosen to use by hand instead of on your computer. LIVING SMART SOFTWARE allows you to pick and choose which tools are most appropriate for your current circumstances and needs and be easily changed or updated throughout your life to reflect the changes in your life. Although it isn’t possible to predict the unexpected events we will all encounter, we can be better prepared for them so we will be able to give or receive the help needed when it matters most.