End of life arrangements...

[MrsSilverlight]

Wooden canoes would probably be a great investment for all of you wanting to go out in a blaze of glory.

If you are preparing yourselves for end of life arrangements, highly suggest getting an attorney and setting up a trust. There are attorneys that will charge a sliding scale for those of us with less assets and they'll also help make sure your will and dictates are fully funded.
If you don't qualify for life insurance (term or whole life) there are other options to put away money. My husband never qualified for LI due to his medical issues, and we're not even 30.
Talk to your parents and your children so they know either who is handling your paperwork or where to find it, and try to have all the policies in one place. Several of you mentioned you've already done that, so that's awesome.

We have four kids, if something awful happened and I didn't come home tomorrow, we have some things in place to cover living expenses for a few years. Lost income shouldn't be the most important focus, but it is a defining factor in quality of life for those that are left. I wouldn't hesitate to go through the process to figure out what that number would be. Unless it's a Rapture.

We lost our son two years ago, and it was the worst experience figuring out where to go to have him cremated. I don't want my family going through that. We all pass away at some point, and I wanted to make sure I lessened that burden on them. And I had helped my mother with both of my grandparents arrangements as an early adult. Drastically different circumstances, but in the end there are only so many options. I promise I'm not on a soapbox, the decisions are hard all around, but much easier when you have a say in what happens when you pass on than a grieving family.

 

[Tactically Fat]

For those of you who are fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type people... Yet who also don't want to burden others:

Figure on saving $2k-ish for a simple cremation without any kind of funeral home viewing/memorial. Save that $2k in a certain spot and be sure that the person or persons who will handle your final affairs know where that $ is and how to get to it.

Those of you/us who can do life insurance: Term life insurance is a much better vehicle for your premium dollars. Whole-life insurance is a horrible investment vehicle - and it's expensive. You can most likely invest those monies better in average mutual funds than in a whole-life policy.

Also, utilizing the Principal of Declining Responsibilities: If you're old - you hopefully shouldn't need any life insurance. Save that premium $ (which goes up the older you are) to live on and to continually invest. Once you're at a certain age - you shouldn't have to worry about a mortgage. If you're retired - you shouldn't have to worry about income replacement. Once you're old enough, hopefully you've carefully managed your own funds in order to leave an inheritance to your children.

 

[patience0830]

The church says that when Jesus Christ comes back to earth, the dead will rise. Heaven will be on earth, and everyone will be judged.

You want to make sure you’re intact when you’re brought back

I think if God put Adam together out of nothing, if he wants me back, I'll be reconstituted at his pleasure.

 

[POC]

We had nothing put together when my wife passed. Who thinks about that when you are in your 30's?? I had to do everything in 3 days. Cemetery plots are cheap down here and I'm actually on the cemetery board, so that wasn't hard. And my cousin was the funeral director so he saw that everything was taken care of, reminded me of things to do, etc. My parents were a big help too. Luckily we did have life insurance on her through my work, not a lot, but plenty to bury her and take care of us for the time I was off work.

Something else to think about is end of life decisions, do you want to be a Do Not Resuscitate patient? You need to talk that over with your family. It puts the medical staff in a tough situation if the family is fighting over what to do while "mom" is taking her last few breaths. See an attorney and get those Living Wills written up.

 

[churchmouse]

I think if God put Adam together out of nothing, if he wants me back, I'll be reconstituted at his pleasure.

Ashes to ashes comes to mind.
We will be cremated. This discussion was had by the immediate family when my oldest son passed. He is with us on the mantle as I type. He occasionally takes trips to stay with siblings etc. The spouse and I will be treated the same way. We see the 12K expense to prepare/bury as something un-needed and a burden. To each as they see fit to do and no knock on any decisions folks make on handling the deceased. This is a personal thing.
No resuscitate orders are in place for us both and the people who will be accountable for these decisions are aware and on board.