Sophie Okolo, MPH

It’s the one secret that we all know, that isn’t really a secret, but that no one will willingly talk about – we are all going to die. Unless you get comfortable with that topic, it’s not going to be the easiest thing to plan. Well, you don’t plan your death, but you certainly plan what comes next. Preparing for your death isn’t a morbid topic, either. It’s a smart one to discuss with friends and family because they need to know what you would want for when the time comes.

You need to talk about because you need help with choosing the type of burial/cremation you may want, you need to know any guidance on cemetery issues that you could come across, and you need to know what it all means to plan your funeral. Sure, you won’t be here, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t plan for your funeral to be wonderful. It also doesn’t mean that you can’t plan for your family to understand what you want. So, how do you prepare for your death? What do you do first?

1. Write a Will. Instructing a lawyer and discussing your wants and needs for your belongings and money is a must. If you have a Will, you can know that you are preparing your family well and you are looking after them after you die. Speak to a law firm that specializes in Wills and testimonials so that you have the best of the best working with you. Your Will is going to have all of the details of what you want for yourself after you die.
2. Add a power of attorney. This is the person who will read out your Will and be the person who makes the legal and financial decisions that you can’t make. If you’re sick or dying, they can be the voice of reason to the rest of the family, and this will help you to have an impartial person sticking to your wishes.
3. Make a plan. You can plan and pay for your funeral as early as you would like, but you need a plan for medical treatment, too. You can tell your friends and family to hook you up to ventilators and go for extreme measures, but you can also say you’d like to sign a “do not resuscitate” order, too. You need to plan for this because if something should happen to you, an advanced directive can dictate what you would want.
4. Donate your organs. Signing up to the organ donation list should be a mandatory thing: when you die, you don’t need your organs so there’s no need for them to go with you. An advance directive can also dictate whether you want your organs to go into the main pool or whether you have a plan to directly donate. It’s a contentious issue with families, and by directing others to what you want in a plan, you’re going to avoid any fighting.

Donating your stuff. From your physical to your digital assets, you need to have a place for all of your belongings to go. Writing this as part of your Will can help!