Get Your Affairs in Order

Regardless of your age or financial circumstances, everyone needs an estate plan. Dera L. Johnsen-Tracy, an estate planning attorney and co-founder of Horn & Johnsen SC in Madison, Wis., recommends that farriers having at least the following basic estate planning documents in place:

• Will (does not avoid probate) or
  Living Trust (avoids probate).
• Property Power of Attorney.
• Health care documents (Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will, HIPAA authorization).
• Personal Property Memorandum.
• Funeral planning (written instructions, Authorization for Final Disposition).

Johnsen-Tracy was recently featured in the American Farriers Journal Farrier Business Success Academy, which took place Nov. 20-22. Horse or pet owners can also incorporate pet trusts into their estate plans. These trusts are legally enforceable and will ensure that pets are cared for in the event of death or incapacitation.

“Estate planning will take some investment of your time and money,” says Johnsen-Tracy, “but will be well worth it for the peace of mind.”

British Columbia Farrier Registration Bid Slows

A pair of unrelated events have slowed the bid to regulate farriers in British Columbia, but progress continues in the push to establish a national farrier apprenticeship program in Canada.

The global coronavirus pandemic has created a logjam in many governments, and western Canada is no exception. However, a personnel change in the provincial government has compounded the process, leaving the Western Canada Farriers…