Do not leave a mess for your family.
Your death with impact your family.
They will miss you each day and grieve your loss.
It will be hard emotionally and physically.
What can you do to ease their burdens?
According to a recent Leesville Daily Leader article “Planning for the end of your life,” you can arrange your own funeral and make an estate plan.
Making these plans yourself removes a major stressor from your loved ones.
How do you plan your funeral?
For starters, make decisions on whether you want to be cremated or buried.
If buried, you should purchase your plot and gravestone.
Would you prefer a memorial service or a funeral?
Do you have a song list, flower preference, or charity in mind for donations?
How would you like people notified of your death?
If you are a veteran, you should make sure your family can access a copy of your DD-214 to apply for burial benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Cemetery Administration.
If you want to be buried in a national cemetery, you will need to fill out and submit a VA Form 40-100 to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office.
Remember to include a copy of your DD-214.
The decisions need to be made quickly.
With no guidance, your family could spend more money than necessary and lose valuable time to grieve properly.
In addition to funeral arrangements, you should have an estate plan.
Your plan should at the very least have a power of attorney, a last will and testament, an advance health care directive (e.g., ours consists of a health care treatment directive, durable power of attorney for health care decisions, and an anatomical gift declaration).
If you do not have an estate plan, you will die intestate.
What does this mean?
It means the courts will determine the administration and ultimate distribution of your affairs based on state law.
It will cost your family time, energy, and money.
The "secret sauce" in any successful estate plan is organization.
Make sure your original documents are safe and that your loved ones know where to find them.
Your family also may need to access your asset and personal information, as well as the information for your professional advisors.
Funeral and estate planning may seem morbid topics right now, but tackling them now will make life simpler for your family when you die.
Reference: Leesville Daily Leader (May 1, 2019) “Planning for the end of your life”
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