Making End-of-Life Plans is a Gift to Your Family

In most cases, people don’t want to think about their own death, so they avoid the subject. However, since they don’t want to discuss it, they don’t make plans for what they want to happen after they die.

More than half of Americans think that end-of-life planning, or estate planning, is at least somewhat important. However, only about one-third of us have a plan in place. Many people believe they don’t need to bother with an estate plan because they think they don’t have enough assets. This plays into the common misconception that you must have a large estate to have an estate plan. Whatever you own, no matter how much or how little, is your estate.

In addition to determining what should happen to your assets, estate planning involves what you want to happen to your body after you are deceased as well as which medical treatments you want or don’t want near the end of your life. Our health-care system is geared toward keeping people alive for as long as possible. Many people, however, don’t want to be kept alive artificially if they are terminally ill. This is one of the decisions you should make in advance so your loved ones won’t have to guess what you want or the state dictates what will happen to you.

Creating a thorough and legally sound end-of-life plan ensures that you will get the medical treatment you want and that your assets will be distributed how you want them to be distributed. Spelling out all your wishes ahead of time will make your end-of-life process much easier for your loved ones by saving them time, money, and energy during the difficult time leading up to and following your passing.

Not only can end-of-life planning be uncomfortable to talk about, but it can also seem daunting to tackle. Fortunately, as with many things in life, the process becomes more manageable when broken down into sections. Here are some things to do to prepare for your estate plan process.

Take same time to think about which medical treatments you want and don’t want if the occasion for them should arise. Do you want to be kept alive artificially for as long as possible? Would you prefer to not be kept alive if treatments for a terminal illness or injury are ineffective? Where would you prefer to spend the last weeks or days of your life? In a hospital? In your home?

These are questions your loved ones should know the answers to in case you become unable to communicate with them. By completing a living will, you can put these wishes in writing and make them official.