Are Your Prepared?

Are you prepared? Prepared for what you may ask. End of life preparation. Now I know, this is not a topic no one wants to think about, much less talk about in detail.

The fact is that we are all going to pass from this physical life to the next phase beyond. When you are young, it seems like something far into the future. When you pass the age of fifty, you realize the time before you is now closer than the time behind.

Last week was a whirlwind. My only surviving sister had a major medical crisis. Thankfully, she is home recovering. There is more ahead, but for the moment the crisis has passed. It occurred to me that I know nothing about what she wants should she be in a place to not make her own decisions. We have begun to talk about that as she has always been very independent, and I know she will have specific instructions.

I faced a life-threatening illness young, and then twice more. If I am being perfectly honest, I have spent much of my life thinking about when I will pass. The details of what I’d like to leave behind, and how I would like to be remembered are very clear in my mind. Caston will never NOT know what my preferences are. There is just one glitch – it is not written down anywhere. Should something happen to me today, it would be so stressful for him because he knows I have specific ideas. 

Have you spent any time thinking about this? Things like:

1. Who do you want as your estate executor if you have an estate.

2. What kind of medical directive do you want? DNR?  Are you a donor? Who can give your directives if you cannot?

3. Do you want a traditional funeral with a coffin and burial? Or would you want to be cremated? Ashes buried?  Ashes scattered? Where?

4. What about a memorial after the fact instead of a traditional service? Where would you like that to take place?

5.  Who would you like to give the eulogy at your funeral? More than one person? What do you want them to share?

6.  What music and who would you like to sing and/or perform it? Use music tracks instead?

7.  Where do you want to be laid to rest? Your home church cemetery? Memorial Park? Is your plot ready? Paid  for? Is there a certain headstone you’d like?

8.  If you want a traditional funeral, what clothes would you want to wear? Ladies can be very specific about this.

9.  Is there anything special you’d like added to your service? Slide show? Video? 

Then we get into the grittier things like property and money. So many families end up arguing and even splitting because Momma or Daddy did not leave a will to say who gets what.

1. Do you own property? How do you want that handled for your surviving family members? BE VERY SPECIFIC. Get it notarized or in a legal document with an attorney.

2. Where do you keep your personal financial and insurance papers? Do you have someone you’d like to add to your bank account that would have permission to handle your affairs if you cannot?

3. How do you want your personal belongings handled? If you have antiques, China, books, etc. that family would want, designate it now. Make sure there is no room for arguing later.

4. Do you have any pets? Who do you want to take care of them?

5. If you have a retirement, pension, or life insurance policy – who is the beneficiary? Men, if you die before your  wife, do you have things in order to make her life easier? Keep all your important documents together and make sure someone has the combination or key.

I have made a promise that we will be completing a living will soon. There are several sites online that provide free templates, or most hospital’s and doctor’s offices have them.

Here is the link to two that are reliable and easy to use. Remember to search on your state, as each state is different:

www.rocketlawyer.com

www.lawdepot.com

I know this isn’t my normal type of blog, but I feel it’s important to plan. When our oldest sister passed away in 2020, I had to jump through major hoops because she was very independent and never wanted to discuss what she wanted. At the very end, she told me things about her funeral, but all her other affairs were a toss-up.

So, you independent folks reading this – you know who you are – sit down and make a plan. The whole point is to make sure that your wishes ARE known and carried out to the best ability.

Thank all of you who lifted a prayer for my sister last week. They were felt and answered. Life is precious. Live each day as if it is your last, and oh…get prepared!