Frozen man actually wealthy and made large chartiable gift

Perhaps you read about the tragic story of Marvin E. Schur, the 93-year old gentleman who froze to death inside his home because the power company limited his use of electricity after Marvin ran up an unpaid bill of over $1,000.  See AP, 93-year-old froze to death, owed big utility bill, Yahoo! News, Jan. 26, 2009.

It has recently been revealed that Marvin’s failure to pay the bill was not due to lack of funds.  His estate is worth approximately $600,000 which he left to the Bay Medical Center in Bay City, Michigan.  See AP, Michigan Man, 93, Who Froze to Death Over $1G in Unpaid Bills Leaves $600G to Hospital, Feb. 5, 2009.

Thus, one wonders why Marvin did not pay his electric bill for so many months.  Did he no longer understand the necessity of paying bills?  Was he unable to write checks or arrange for electronic payments?  Did he simply forget?

How would you prevent this from happening to you, a family member, or client?