LINING UP DUCKS

We all know we are going to die but it remains a distant possibility until cancer puts it into focus. I don’t know how long I’ll survive and I don’t want to know. Be it days, weeks, months or years, I’ll make the best of the time I have left. But the situation begs some questions. How do I want to leave things for those I leave behind? How can I make it as easy as possible for them to tend to the details that must be done? These are questions we don’t want to leave to the last minute.

I have a somewhat unique situation in that I don’t have a “significant other” and my family lives 200 miles away. I need to think about how I can leave them a roadmap for the decisions that will need to be made. Here are a few things I have been thinking about and doing:

My will: I reviewed my will to make sure it still reflects my wishes. It does so I don’t need to make any changes there. If you don’t have a will, make one. You can do it online for free.

Finances: I have added my son’s name to all my accounts and have given him power of attorney. I will also add his name to the deed to my property. I will leave instructions as to how to contact Medicare and Social Security as well as how to notify my life insurance. All these will be in a folder left in a prominent place.

Medical: I have completed a booklet called “Five Wishes” produced by Aging with Dignity and available through most community health, hospitals and Hospice. It covers how you want decisions to be made for you if you are no longer able to make them. For instance, the kinds of medical treatments you want or don’t want and how to deal with life support decisions. It’s important for others to know your opinions about these issues.

Organ Donor: I have registered with the State of Michigan Organ Donation databank. If anyone can benefit from any healthy organ, I want them to have it. This is recycling at its finest.

Funeral: I do not want a funeral. I will be contacting a local funeral home to purchase a cremation plan that does not include any service. If people want to remember me they should have a party to celebrate my life. It will cost much less than a funeral and be a lot more fun.

I’m sure there are even more things to consider but that’s all I can come up with right now. If this list reminds you of something you have been meaning to do, then DO IT! Don’t leave these important decisions to your loved ones without some sort of direction from you. It’s very difficult to make these decisions when people are grieving. Take this advice from me and plan ahead.

I will be able to rest easy when I know my ducks are all in a row.