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Dying Matters
For any major event in life that matters to you, you plan – a Christening, Wedding, Life Insurance, even a holiday! Yet when it comes to our own death – there’s silence.
I’d certainly like to know that my last wishes were going to be carried out when my time comes, wouldn’t you? So I’ve put together some information to raise questions in your own mind, to begin planning. Once it’s done, you can put it aside and go on living your best life.
Things to think about and put in place
· Make a will
· Set up a funeral plan
· Start planning for your future care and support – consider a Legal Power of Attorney
· Make your thoughts on organ donation known
· Manage your digital legacy
· Make sure your loved ones know your plans
Making a Will
There are several good reasons for writing a will
· You can be clear about who gets your assets and who doesn't.
· You can name a guardian for your children and an executor for your estate.
· You can speed up the legal process of distributing your assets and save on estate taxes.
· You can avoid disputes and conflicts among your heirs.
Making a will can be done through a solicitor or indeed written by yourself on a form bought at a reputable stationers but must be witnessed by 2 persons.
Funeral Plans
There seem to be many options available these days – there are endless ads on the TV and of course, most Funeral Directors can set one up for you too.
It really does take the worry out of how your funeral will be paid for and not leave a burden on those closest to you, as well as ensuring you get the service you want, whether it’s a direct cremation, religious/non religious/celebrant led service, if/what flowers you’d like, right down to if you want a limo to transport your family to the service.
The added benefit of this type of plan is that when the cost goes up in the future, you’re cost remains the same as when you paid for it initially, which I think will lead to a huge saving.
Legal Power of Attorney
In the event that you cant make decisions for yourself, you can set up a person to be your Legal Power of Attorney (LPA), in advance, as a just in case.
This can be a friend, family member or solicitor – someone you trust.
There are two types of LPA – one responsible for your financial affairs and one for your health and well being – you may decide you don’t need both but the same person can do both.
The forms to apply for an LPA can be completed by you on www.gov.uk or you can have a professional family solicitor do it for you.
There is a cost involved but it’s worth the peace of mind and invaluable when needed.
Organ donation
By law, we’re all now in the system for organ donation and you now have to ‘opt out’ if you don’t want to be an organ donor. If you want to opt out go to
Do not donate - NHS Organ Donation
My last wishes leaflet
The website www.dyingmatters.org has so much information around the planning of your last wishes and end of life care and is such a really helpful tool.
One of the best things I found on the site was the ‘Fill out my funeral wishes form’, which lets you decide what you want for your service.
If you do nothing else, you can complete the form online and it’s emailed to you, so you can print it off and then hand it to a member of your family for when it’s needed – they don’t even have to read it, just hold it for you. Sadly I meet many family’s who are at a loss when I meet them to discuss their loved ones service and they all say the same thing – we never talked about, even their life history and now, it causes them so much distress.
Manage your digital legacy
Ever wondered what would happen to your social media accounts or blogs or websites after you die? How about the information on your phone, or your personal computer, or even the cloud? Given how much of our lives is on the internet now, it pays to take some time to understand the end of life policies and processes available for each of the digital sites or assets we use or own. After making your decisions about how you want your data to be treated after you die, make sure to let someone know so they can carry out your wishes. For more information, visit The Digital Legacy Association: https://digitallegacyassociation.org
Make sure loved ones know your plans
It’s only by talking about death that we can remove the stigma of the subject. Assure your loved ones that you’re not being morbid but that you’re just planning, ensuring the least amount of burden and stress is put on them, and that you have exactly what you’d like.
Things to think about and put in place
· Make a will
· Set up a funeral plan
· Start planning for your future care and support – consider a Legal Power of Attorney
· Make your thoughts on organ donation known
· Manage your digital legacy
· Make sure your loved ones know your plans
Making a Will
There are several good reasons for writing a will
· You can be clear about who gets your assets and who doesn't.
· You can name a guardian for your children and an executor for your estate.
· You can speed up the legal process of distributing your assets and save on estate taxes.
· You can avoid disputes and conflicts among your heirs.
Making a will can be done through a solicitor or indeed written by yourself on a form bought at a reputable stationers but must be witnessed by 2 persons.
Funeral Plans
There seem to be many options available these days – there are endless ads on the TV and of course, most Funeral Directors can set one up for you too.
It really does take the worry out of how your funeral will be paid for and not leave a burden on those closest to you, as well as ensuring you get the service you want, whether it’s a direct cremation, religious/non religious/celebrant led service, if/what flowers you’d like, right down to if you want a limo to transport your family to the service.
The added benefit of this type of plan is that when the cost goes up in the future, you’re cost remains the same as when you paid for it initially, which I think will lead to a huge saving.
Legal Power of Attorney
In the event that you cant make decisions for yourself, you can set up a person to be your Legal Power of Attorney (LPA), in advance, as a just in case.
This can be a friend, family member or solicitor – someone you trust.
There are two types of LPA – one responsible for your financial affairs and one for your health and well being – you may decide you don’t need both but the same person can do both.
The forms to apply for an LPA can be completed by you on www.gov.uk or you can have a professional family solicitor do it for you.
There is a cost involved but it’s worth the peace of mind and invaluable when needed.
Organ donation
By law, we’re all now in the system for organ donation and you now have to ‘opt out’ if you don’t want to be an organ donor. If you want to opt out go to
Do not donate - NHS Organ Donation
My last wishes leaflet
The website www.dyingmatters.org has so much information around the planning of your last wishes and end of life care and is such a really helpful tool.
One of the best things I found on the site was the ‘Fill out my funeral wishes form’, which lets you decide what you want for your service.
If you do nothing else, you can complete the form online and it’s emailed to you, so you can print it off and then hand it to a member of your family for when it’s needed – they don’t even have to read it, just hold it for you. Sadly I meet many family’s who are at a loss when I meet them to discuss their loved ones service and they all say the same thing – we never talked about, even their life history and now, it causes them so much distress.
Manage your digital legacy
Ever wondered what would happen to your social media accounts or blogs or websites after you die? How about the information on your phone, or your personal computer, or even the cloud? Given how much of our lives is on the internet now, it pays to take some time to understand the end of life policies and processes available for each of the digital sites or assets we use or own. After making your decisions about how you want your data to be treated after you die, make sure to let someone know so they can carry out your wishes. For more information, visit The Digital Legacy Association: https://digitallegacyassociation.org
Make sure loved ones know your plans
It’s only by talking about death that we can remove the stigma of the subject. Assure your loved ones that you’re not being morbid but that you’re just planning, ensuring the least amount of burden and stress is put on them, and that you have exactly what you’d like.