Not Planning for Your Death is Selfish

Image source: Wikipedia

I received the product mentioned in exchange for an honest review on my blog. The opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. 

Death is a scary subject for many people, especially when it comes to thinking about your own passing. After writing about the subject of grief and preparing for your own death for several years, I’ve come to the opinion that not planning for it is selfish. 

Yes, thinking about your own death may be difficult. It’s not like a vacation to which you look forward. However, keep in mind that planning for your own death is not about you. It’s about helping your family emotionally and financially. After seeing other families squabble about what to do with the remains of a loved one, how to celebrate a loved one’s life and how to divide the assets, it’s seems as if this type of pre-planning should be a no-brainer. 

This type of pre-planning does not just apply to older people. Every adult (those 18 and older) should consider their end-of-life wishes and make them known. This is particularly true if you’re married or have children.

Reasons to Plan for Your Own Death and Funeral

• Your wishes are clear: When you pre-plan, your family knows exactly what to do in medical situations when you can’t make a decision for yourself. Your family also knows how to handle your remains and how you want them to celebrate your life.

• Help your family avoid debt: When you pre-plan your funeral and make your own arrangements, your family doesn’t have to worry about paying for these services, which can cost thousands of dollars. According to Funerals.org, cremation services cost up to $1,200. I recommend choosing a reputable funeral provider that has an established history and is part of a network or chain of services providers. Pre-plan your arrangements with the director, including details about viewings, how to prepare your body and so on. When you work with a funeral home and pay for your services in advance, your family will not owe the difference if the cost of the services increases over the decades.
  
  The reason that I recommend using a funeral home that’s part of a chain or network is so your family can access the same services at a different funeral service provider if you move or if the original funeral home goes out of business.
  
  Leave your loved ones with nice memories, not a financial hardship.

• Choose your own casket or urn: The demand for caskets and urns will never go away, as humans are not immortal. These items will only increase in price over the years. Keep in mind that you can purchase these vessels from distributors other than funeral homes, which can help save money.

• Alleviate stress and fighting: In my opinion, one of the dumbest things to fight about is who gets a loved one’s material possessions. The sad truth is that many families do. By officially stating who gets your material possessions, you avoid such silly squabbles. It’s better for your loved ones to be mad at you (you’ll be dead, so it doesn’t matter) than each other.

The First Steps in Planning for the End of Your Life

The first essential planning steps are creating a:

• Last will and testament
• Living will with health care directives
• Power of attorney
• Documenting your funeral wishes
• Preparing your final messages

Doing all of this may seem overwhelming. Without help, it is. When U.S. Legal Wills gave me the chance to try and review its online tools, I immediately accepted the opportunity.  

U.S. Legal Wills is an online service with a yearly membership that helps you create legal documents in a simple, secure manner for a fraction of the price of hiring a lawyer to do it for you. You can create each of the documents that I listed using a step-by-step tool. The process is easier than I imagined, and I completed some of the forms in an evening. U.S. Legal Wills allows you to update your documents as often as you like during the term of your membership without any extra charges. 

If holographic wills, or handwritten wills, are legal in your state, all you simply have to do is print the documents, sign them (have witnesses sign them, too) and keep them in a safe place. Otherwise, print the documents and have a notary public and witnesses sign them. Check with your state to learn if you need a lawyer to handle any aspects of your last will and testament, living will and power of attorney. 

U.S. Legal Wills is a helpful site with an affordable membership rate. The only problem that I’ve experienced is a technical difficulty that occurred today. I could not see the services that I have access to on the home screen of my account, but I can access them using the “Services tab.” I notified Customer Support about the issue.

Update: After contacting U.S. Legal Wills via email about the technical issue I experienced, they responded within a couple of hours and resolved the problem. 

How ever you plan for your future, do it today.