End of life Planning
1 Finance - Will writing, putting information about key finances in a central place/s
2 Household - Collation of household documents, airlooms etc..
3 Councelling - Councelling and key principles to come to terms with end of life and terminal
4 Well Being -Avenues to help come to terms with end of life and terminal
5 Support - Support for self and loved ones
Will Planning
Will planning. Something which increasingly is easier to do and in many cases something which can mostly be done online depending on
an individuals situation.
The situation, would much depend whether you foresee circumstances where your estate might be contested, how complex
you think the spread of your assets is. Particularly real estate is and also the relationship of whom the beneficary / beneficiaries are. For example it is typically
simpler when the primary beneficary is a married partner. in absence of that is there anyone that has delegated powers of eterny?
I didn't have this and didnt setup at the time but, with hindsight think may have useful to have started the process early given
several months on should have concluded. That said being married my sitution should be comparitvely straight foward and I set mine up online bia BHF and noticed alot of charities offer
a free online service in exchange for an optional donnation.
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Online Will on such avenue via
British Heart Foundation - It was a simple guide to step through and offered free unlimited changes within a year of writing.
I also put together a smaller list on valuables for purposes of flexibility, linking it to the expression of wishes.
Plus a short doc of the probate process for my wife to follow. Once a draft is submitted it takes a few weeks to be checked
via solicitors before an email is received confirming it's ready. I printed out 3 copies of which needed to be signed
by me and to witnesses (not related to my choosen beneficiaries). I also included family in discussions on the will,
not needed per say but felt like the right thing to do. I also think it may help for a smoother process when it needs to be enacted.
Will writing suggested tasks / checklist
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Real estate - how are you planning to divide this up? Will it be a comparitively straight forward change in title from you to one other person/s. Or is
it more complex where for example either there are more than one persons currently on the legal charge and or you intend to change the basis of the charge / divide it up?
Similarly are you leaving all other clauses the same or intending to add in covernments etc.. in which case would need to include conveyencing.
- Other material assets. Not something I needed to consider but expect this would extend to cars etc.. if not going to the defaulted beneficiary.
- Other assets that are inside the house. Those that required listing in the will.
I considered to what degree these needed specifying in the will or as part of final wishes or indeed handling in advnace of death. For me items note worthy in the will
were mostly things withsome inherent value that were important to me to pass on to specific indivdiuals. Such as my record collection I'd braodly valued via discogs(these re worth money these days!)
and a bicycle.
- Other assets inside the house going to other individuals other than the default beneficary / s. For me these were none material items albeit ones with high sentimental value.
that needed allocating specifically. I added some to my final wishes and some I passed on / back when those beneficiaries were visiting.
For example: some family paintings went back to my mum, collage to my sister, gameboy / cystals I gave to my children. Doing some of this in advnace felt good
to save my wife the trouble and also was fun. For example playing the gameboy with my son to show him what it was.
Other Finances
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Death in service, life insurance, other work related wishes benefits. I checked what was available and where available if I had made a selection
updating acordingly.
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Pensions. Checking pension details, amounts etc... and putting these details in one place for my other half. Also looking
at options of transference. Something I went back to checking the mechanics once I was deemed terminal. Some will allow you to combine
pensions, or withdrawal pension early once terminal subject to evidence / letter from your oncologist.
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Bank accounts. I put details of all of these onto one sheet and also subsequently provided my other half authority to make calls to
the bank on my behalf.
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Key household bills. I collated details of these onto a spreadsheet. Cost, where that came out of, provider, service etc...
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Key online accounts. Ok no so much financial but whilst there I provided details of key online accounts what should happen in event
of my death, stipuleting my wishes. One for consideration now given we all have a larger online footprint than ever before. Some like facebook have the option to set this
and can be done from your settings
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Key documents. Making sure where were all present and available to help in event of detail with claims etc.. I.e.
marriage certififcate, birth certificate, passport, recent statements.
