Documents To Have and Preparations to Make Before You Die

None of us particularly want to face our own mortality, but we don’t all get the option to ignore it.  If you or someone you love is facing their mortality, we understand just how hard that can be.  We hope that this difficult and painful process brings opportunities for closure and acceptance. 

 

We hope that some information about what kinds of preparations are best to have done before death will be useful to you and yours.  All that said, here is a list of the documents and preparations you should make before you die.

 

The Documents You Need

We based this list loosely on an article that came out about a decade ago from the Wallstreet Journal on this subject.  With the increasing role of online accounts and social media in our lives, it’s perhaps more important than ever to focus on these aspects of your preparations.  Still, there are many traditional documents that are necessary.

 

Traditional Documents

• • Your Last Will & Testament: This is the best known of the documents you need and often where people start. Your will is a document that declares who inherits your assets or any joint ownership of your property among your beneficiaries.  
  • A Financial Power of Attorney (POA) is used to select someone who can make choices regarding your assets and property if you become unable to make decisions and payments on your own.
  • An Advance Health Care Directive describes both how you wish to be treated, outlining your medical wishes, and assigns someone the authority to make medical decisions for you in accordance with your wishes.

• • Do Not Resuscitate Orders (DNR)  A DNR authorizes a medical provider to not attempt resuscitation if you pass.  This is advisable in situations where there is no chance of recovery or advanced age makes it inappropriate.

• • Personal & family medical history This allows your medical team and family to make appropriate decisions with all the information necessary.  Be sure to include all the medications you take in case you aren’t able to communicate this information directly.
  • A HIPAA Authorization allows your medical providers to disclose sensitive medical information about you to your designees.  Under Maine law, without this document, the following order of priority applies for learning medical information and making medical decisions when you are unable: spouse, your non-spouse life partner, your adult child, your parent, an adult sibling, an adult grandchild, an adult nephew or niece, an adult aunt or uncle, finally any adult relative by blood or adoption.  You can find the formal legal information here.

• • Housing, land, cemetery deeds Property documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.

• • Escrow mortgage accounts Financial documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.

• • Proof of loans made and debts owed Financial documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.

• • Vehicle Titles Property documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.

• • Stock certificates, savings bonds, brokerage accounts

• • Partnership and corporate operating agreements Property documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.

• • Tax returns: 6 years from filing date Financial documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.

• • A Letter of Instruction This document conveys your requests and important details, including where and/or how you wish your ashes to be scattered or plans for your funeral or memorial service.
  • List of safe-deposit boxes Includes bank addresses, key locations, and, just in case, written permission for your executor to access the safe deposit box(es).
  • Life insurance policies Financial documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.
  • Individual retirement accounts Financial documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.
  • Pension documents Financial documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.
  • Annuity contracts Financial documents will be necessary for the executor of your will.
  • Marriage license This will help your spouse to claim their rights if necessary.
  • Divorce papers This will prevent your ex-spouse from falsely claiming rights they don’t have.
  • A list of Important contacts This should include anyone you want to be informed of your passing and invited to your memorial, as well as important business, medical, and other contacts.
  • A Legacy Letter or Ethical Will This is your last personal statement, including your wishes for the future, wisdom you want to share, advice and information you don’t want lost, and family history and anecdotes you wish to survive you.  If you have genealogical information, it is a good idea to include a copy of it here for your descendants.

Digital-Oriented Documents

• • A Digital Estate Plan This plan should include what you want done with any and all social media accounts and should name your digital executor, especially if it’s not the same person who will be the overall executor of your estate.  If you have other digital assets such as a Youtube channel, website, Pateron, etc. include your wishes for these accounts here.
  • A list of passwords & digital accounts Includes all your important accounts, as well as any subscriptions or utility accounts to ease the transition. Also be sure to include passwords for your computers, pins for your phone or other devices, and passwords for encrypted drives.  Even if you want a certain drive to be wiped, your digital executor will need this information to do so.

Miscellaneous

There are a few more things to make sure your loved ones are aware of that don’t fall neatly into the above documents’ purview.

Who will take care of your pets?

Many people will include this information in their Last Will, however, given the needs of pets for frequent and regular care, the delay between your passing and the reading of your Last Will may be unacceptable.  Just make sure you have trusted people who can access your home and are aware of your pets and their needs and are willing to take care of them if you pass.  Try to make at least two trusted people aware as people can be unavoidably detained.

 

Love Letters

If there are final words you want to share with your loved ones, write them down.  Though the movies make it look like everyone passes with someone there to hear their last words, the reality is that most of us aren’t able to communicate clearly in the moments before passing.  Take advantage of your lucidity now and write down your feelings and kind words for loved ones.  A Last Will or other legal document isn’t an adequate way to express these thoughts and feelings.

 

Your Obituary

You could include this in other documents, but having a clear and ready obituary takes one difficult task off your loved ones’ collective shoulders.  Many lose sleep over simple things like failing to mention something they think you may have wanted mentioned in your obituary.  If it’s already written, there’s no need to think about it as they grieve you.

 

Final Arrangements

The disposition of your body should be covered in your Letter of Instruction in the above list.  You can, however, take it one step further and make arrangements before you pass.  Paying for your chosen outcome helps to assure that your wishes are carried out to the letter and ease the burden on your loved ones.  You can arrange payment in advance for a funeral, burial, or cremation.  At Maine Cremation Care, we would be happy to help you make such arrangements to make your loved ones’ grief a little easier to manage.