End of Life Planning
Planning your funeral is a crucial task—one that ensures your family is clear on your wishes and spared difficult decisions later. Having those tough conversations about burial, cremation, entombment, or aquamation is a great start. This allows your family to understand your wishes for a final disposition. But what are the processes that lead us to that final resting place? Here are some questions to ask yourself, but don’t forget to include your family in this process, because their opinion matters, too!
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Would I like to have a formal time of reflection, with an officiant of some kind talking about my life, reading poems and verses and playing special music? Would it be religious, or not at all, or somewhere in between? -
Would I prefer an open house style of visiting where there isn’t a formal time of remembrance, just all of the people I love together in one room for a given period of time?
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Would I like to have my body present for these things? Or would I prefer an urn/photo or representation of me to be present instead of my physical body?
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Where will my final place of rest be? A cemetery? A fireplace mantle? The lake at my cottage?
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Do I want a monument to mark this location, and what would it be? A traditional headstone? A tree? A shrub or garden?
Pre-Plan Online
These are valuable questions to begin conversations, but we often overlook the period leading up to our own death. Getting your affairs in order typically includes preparing a will, which is vital. Many believe a will divides up wealth and possessions, but its primary purpose is to designate someone you trust to manage your affairs. The executor becomes responsible, superseding family ties. Without a will, all next of kin must be contacted for approval of any services, and if an estranged family member cannot be reached, proceedings can be delayed for months.
When creating your will, you are also encouraged to assign Powers of Attorney (for Finance and Personal Care). This responsibility is entrusted to one or two individuals, allowing for quicker decision-making and ensuring that your financial, health, and household matters can be managed if you are incapacitated.