4 essential End of Life preparations

By Sia Hasan

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

End of life preparations are difficult to think about, for obvious reasons, but they’re something that everyone needs to work out in advance. Ensuring the best possible situation for you and your family, or for loved ones, is crucial. When a loved one passes, it’s a hard time for everyone involved, and squaring away your end of life preparations gives your family and friends much less to worry about. Here are some key ways you can make end of life preparations in a timely and intelligent fashion.

Get a Life Insurance policy

Life insurance is likely the single most important facet of end of life preparations, and that’s because life insurance provides your loved ones with funds that can allow them to make funeral arrangements and also continue to thrive in your absence. Because of the weight of the topic, the average person doesn’t even consider life insurance until later on in life. However, it’s best to set up your life insurance policy as early as possible. For one thing, the cost of a life insurance policy increases with your age, and your policy generally provides greater benefits the longer it remains in effect. When setting up your life insurance policy, carefully consider your dividend options, because they vary tremendously, and the right answer depends on your needs and your circumstances.

Write a Will

In much the same way one declines to think about life insurance, a person’s will is often relegated to one’s twilight years. However, the reasons for getting it out of the way early are very different.

For starters, there’s no telling when it might unexpectedly become relevant. However, perhaps a more crucial facet of the will writing process is that there are different types of wills a person may need based on their circumstances. While some are variations on the traditional “simple will,” there is also a living will. The purpose of a living will is to detail your wishes to medical professionals regarding medical treatment when and if you become unable to vocalize them. In each of these cases, it is crucial that certain information be present pertaining to relevant parties like yourself and your loved ones, as well as that of an executor, the person who is intended to carry out your wishes.

Decide your Organ Donor status

Another important aspect of end of life preparations is actually a part of getting a driver’s license or an ID card, and that’s decided what you want to happen to your body once you pass. When applying for a driver’s license, you will be asked whether or not you want to be an organ donor; you will also be asked whether or not you would like to be resuscitated in emergency situations, which ties into the idea of the living will mentioned above. Deciding if you want to donate your organs after your death is the first end of life step many people take, simply because it is incidental to an early and  necessary part of life.

Decide what will happen to your Remains

Another important option to consider for your end of life preparation is simply whether you would prefer to have your remains buried or cremated. Much of the deliberation about this choice is based on your beliefs, religious or otherwise, and those beliefs may not initially yield a clear choice. There are nuances to these questions, and it should be noted that some people don’t have an opinion on the matter; others just don’t know what their preference is yet, because they haven’t thought about it. It’s important for you to figure out what you want in advance, if possible, because people tend to gain clarity and perspective on their deathbed, and it’s best to have everything sorted before that time comes.

Preparing for one’s end of life is perhaps initially stressful, but it’s important to make these preparations for the sake of your loved ones. However, it’s also important for your own sake, because it will put your mind at ease. For this reason, in addition to those mentioned above, it’s better to take care of these things early. With this primer in hand, you’re prepared to tackle these important decisions in your own time and in the way that best suits you and your loved ones.

Sia Hasan is a tech entrepreneur by day, and a freelance writer by night. Her passion lies in business technology, efficient and sleek programming, and customer relationship management. When she doesn’t have her nose pressed against her computer screen, you can find her spending time with the loves of her life, her two dogs, Pixel and Vector.