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End of Life Planning

End of Life Planning Book

Estate planning is only part of an end of life plan

If you were to ask me the most important thing that you can do to make sure that your loved ones are protected and taken care of in the long term, I would tell you to immediately seek the expert guidance of an estate planner. Don’t wait until you’re forced to rush through and make important decisions in haste. Even worse, don’t wait until something happens to you and your loved ones are left completely clueless about your final wishes.

The next thing I would tell you is that I am not an estate planner. Nowhere near. However, I recognize that many people are not mentally or finanically prepared to visit an estate planner. Most of us live our lives under the false asumption that death lurks somewhere in our very distant future so estate planning doesn’t pertain to our here and now. Newsflash: It pertains to ALL of us, all of the time, because we’re all going to die and no one knows when.  So with that in mind, I created an end-of-life planner that will at least help you dip a toe into estate planning until you’re ready to fully jump in. Once you meet with a planning professional, all of those documents can go inside the planner so everything is kept in one, easy to find place that can be accessed by a loved one when the time comes.

The end-of-life planner is approachable and not intimidating.  It’s full of small nuisances that are not addressed in an estate plan, like how you want to be remembered, your bucket list, your favorite things and your personal history. It serves as both a practical space for your legal documents as well as something that could be handed down through the generations.

So make sure to seek professional help but also get your hands on this planner! It’s a wonderful companion to your estate plan and rounds it out to become a comprehensive end-of-life plan.

Things traditional estate planning might miss

  • your virtual world is not usually addressed such as passwords, what you want done with your social media accounts when you’re gone, etc…
  • basic but essential information such as contact lists, bank account information, medical information, pet health information, where important documents are located, etc…
  • legacy information like what personal messages and gifts you’d like to pass along to others after you die, how you want to be remembered, any secret family recipes that you wanted passed on, etc….
  • details about your surrouding environment and experiences you’d like to have before and during the dying process.

I’ve created a planner that you can use for the rest of your life to plan the end of your life. It’s not always about where your money or assests are going. Don’t you want to have a say in how your life is celebrated? Are there family dynamics that you want to help mitigate? You’ve lived your life your way so why not live the end of your life your way too.

What’s included in the Rest of Your Life Planner©?

The documents included in the planner are:

  • advance care planning documents: state specific HIPAA, health care proxy, living will, organ donation, MOLST, power of attorney, Five Wishes and disposition of remains forms
  • a contact list
  • a place to record usernames and passwords
  • basic information for all of your accounts
  • important location information for documents and valuables
  • medical information
  • pet care information
  • end-of-life resources
  • end-of-life wishes
  • pre-death and post-death checklists
  • a bucket list 
  • legacy questions
  • legacy project ideas
  • favorite recipe sheets
  • eulogy tips with a space to write your own
  • obituary tips with a space to write your own
  • end-of-life event planning and funeral tips 
  • income and expenses information
  • a sheet allowing you to gift items to loved ones

The actual binder is recycled and is now given a second chance at life. Expect imperfections please. The fabric covers are removable and can be machine washed.