Plan Final Affairs and Put Details in Writing
- Charles Reams
- Apr 9
- 3 min read
If life can be messy, try leaving your affairs in disarray at death. Your survivors will encounter additional confusion, suffering, and grief by trying to make sense of your wishes for myriad details about your estate from funeral arrangements to cemetery plots and more. There are many other concerns beyond your will.
A course at Legacy Academy from April 9 to 30 is structured to tie up all these knotty loose ends surrounding death.
Day one
CEO Andrea Smith made the opening remarks. This is one of the most important classes that we teach here. People are not prepared for the end of life. One reason for that is that people feel that if they talk about the end it will happen sooner. Death comes anyway whether we talk about it or not.
It is painful for survivors to struggle with unraveling your estate when you are gone to guide the process.
Recently my brother-in-law died. He was 59 and no one saw this coming. He was an active surgeon.
Write down your plans and put them where survivors can find them. In this way, your children don’t claw each other’s eyes out. Confusion about a cemetery plot results and its standard. Where are those records?
What happens before you die?
Nursing homes are there for a reason. Who will be your last caregiver? Don’t assume that your spouse or others will take care of you? think about it and make specific arrangements.
What is the most important document?
No. it's not a will. Stand by for the answer to this question.
You are the only one who must sign to donate your organs.
Mark Milstead is a certified assisted living locator. He is also dementia certified. Today he reduced a 22-page presentation to 1 page.
MARK MILSTEAD CERTIFIED SENIOR HOUSING LOCATOR
Assess the needs, we all have different needs.
Understand your options
Have an advocate
Include family and friends in the discussion
Follow-up regularly at least yearly
INCOME-based housing, not assistant living.
55 and older programs provide no care. This housing can be a subdivision or an apartment.
IL independent living. Provide some meals, light housekeeping, and maybe transportation to see doctors within a short radius. There is a lot of social interaction.
AT. ASSISTED living help you. No doctor or nurse is provided around the clock but only during business hours.
MC memory care. Doors are often locked unless you are among the few residents with a code to go and come as you wish based on your cognition level.
SNF skilled nursing facility. Medical services are very clinical and automatic. No one-on-one care. Very expensive. Plan early to get around the loopholes.
CCRC Continuous Care Retirement Community. It has all the different levels on the same property. Mark, the instructor, is not a fan of this option because you can lose control as you move through their system. You may have to wait six months to move to the next level of care based on the availability of suitable lodging.
How to pay for housing?
Long-term care insurance.
Disability. It helps pay a little.
Veterans. There are huge lifetime benefits for housing and they pass on to your spouse.
Insurance claims. The average cost is $5,000 a month. A half a million will last about 8 years.
PRIVATE PAY. 95% have to pay for their own assisted living costs.
Advisors
Free. Yes, my services are free for those who attend the Legacy Academy class. Register at Senior Acts.
Value added: special offers. Vouchers are often available. Occasionally a person needs to see another professional on the panel for me to maximize their benefits.
Stress relief. Finding assisted living is the biggest monster to slay. Make full use of our panel of experts.
Outside help. Invite advisors to a family discussion.
Unsearchable. The state of homes for seniors is always in a state of flux. Ownership and staff members often change, lowering or elevating the level of care for the facility. Never register on senior housing websites. You will be flooded with vendors.
You need a specific form to prove that you are the spouse of a vet. It takes a year to get approved. Apply today.
Donna Sherer
Care transition. Call us before you need us. Free in-home consultation.
Rightsizing
Mindset is the most important element. Grief clouds your thinking. Determine why you need to move to find the how you move.
Tips
Start early. Declutter now.
