Things Ben has learnt and wishes you to benefit from:
- Make sure you have an up to date will.
- If you have young children then make sure you have an idea of whom might be appropriate Guardians. It is natural to first think of your own parents/your children’s grandparents, but they may be too old for that to be practical.
- Make sure you review the will after a major life event to see if it is still solid.
- If you make a will before you are married then it will need updating (marriage nullifies prior wills).
- While I am not religious, I think there is much to admire in the old Hebrew sentiment, “It is better to give with warm hands than cold’.
- Make sure that your family know what funeral arrangements you would like. If you are in a position to think about these hard to consider points, then do document your wishes:
- Consider pre-paying for your preferred funeral arrangements if you can afford it.
- Decide if you are want a do not recuscitate (DNR) order putting in place if you have a terminal condition.
- Consider if you need a Lasting Power of Attorney put place.
- If your family don’t like sympathy flowers or cards then perhaps let them know which Charity you would prefer for donations to be made to in your name.
- If you need help, it is useful to seek support from people who are invested in you, but preferably not directly connected to the family member undergoing the crisis – that way their sympathy and support is more focused.
- Digital legacies.
- You might want to consider putting your key passwords into a shared secure password vault (i.e. 1Password, etc) or if you are old school physically print out and store in a secure fireproof safe – in both cases access should only be give to someone you trust 100%.
- On iOS you can specify emergency medical contacts and also trusted people that can get access to your account in the event of your demise or if you forget your passwords:
How Is Matt? 