How Planning Ahead Makes Things Easier for Your Family

The right plans and documents will help you prepare your family for the next steps when you’re incapacitated or ready to say goodbye. This post shows you how to get free printable last will and testament forms and set up other important arrangements.

Creating a Last Will and Testament

A will is the most important document you need when planning for the inevitable. This highlights your wishes for your inheritance, including who’ll receive which assets. An unclear will can lead to a lengthy probate process; luckily, online templates give you everything you need.

Here’s how completing your will helps your family:

• Fewer arguments, as they’ll know your wishes in full
• Your inheritance will be released to the right people
• Similarly, probate won’t take anywhere near as long
• You can appoint a legal guardian for your children
• They’ll have peace of mind about your decisions
• You can set money aside for young family members

However, this only helps anyone if it’s legally binding. An online template already has every field a will needs to stand up in court — these are also usually free or low-cost.

Why You Need an Advance Directive

If you’re incapacitated and unable to advocate for your own healthcare, an advance directive will stop them from having to guess your preferences. They may not recall your thoughts on specific medicines in a heated situation, or they might struggle to think about taking you off life support.

Here’s how sorting out an advance directive/living will helps everyone:

• Your family won’t have to make any difficult decisions
• They also won’t argue about what to do
• Everyone knows what’s happening is your preference
• The wrong treatment could waste people’s money

You can again arrange these documents via an online template; just make sure you cover every base, and update it to reflect any changes in beliefs.

When a Power of Attorney Can Help

Power of attorney arrangements are also especially common when someone is incapacitated — these go beyond an advance directive by putting someone directly in charge of your health. You can also get them to manage your other affairs.

Here are some ways a power of attorney agent can put your family at ease:

• Quick and clear decisions without lengthy deliberations
• Similarly, no time is wasted amid a major medical crisis
• The right people can easily access your bank accounts
• No guesswork about your medical/financial preferences
• Your care always takes priority, not any legal red tape

PoA arrangements let you stay in control by assigning an agent to manage decisions. However, this only helps your family if you select the right agent. This should be someone willing to make tough decisions on your behalf.

Organising Your Documents

Moving away from specific document types, it’s important that you practice good documentation; otherwise, people will struggle to figure out your preferences. This means your will, insurance, PoA, and other key documents should be in one easily-accessible (but still secure) location.

If you’re incapacitated, you can’t tell your family where your documents are. For this reason, it’s good to keep your advance directive and similar medical forms with your doctor. Anything else can go in a safe, with ample copies to the right people, such as your executor, lawyer, or agent.

Planning Your Funeral

When you die, the last thing your family will want to think about is your funeral. This alone could quickly become a battleground of arguments and indecision, instead of a celebration of your life.

Here are a few ways you can make this whole process easier for everyone:

• Clearly state whether you’d like your body to be buried or cremated
• Outline any other preferences (such as where to scatter your ashes)
• Clarify if you’d prefer a secular or religious ceremony, and where it should be
• Make sure people know the dress code and which flowers you’d prefer
• Consider prepaying at a funeral home, or look into burial insurance

Everything you do at this stage, even if it’s likely decades away, will help your family.

Communicating Your Wishes

Make sure you regularly discuss your plans and wishes with your loved ones. This helps clarify any confusion that may arise if the will seems counter to your usual personality. Being secretive often does more harm than good, or can lead to someone contesting the will.

Your family needs to know where any key documents are, your basic funeral plans, and who will act as executor/POA agent. It’s also worth being open about your medical values — this means any preferences about life support, etc., won’t be a great shock when the time comes.

Final Thoughts

Your death or incapacitation is always going to be rough for your family, but good documentation can ease the pain and help them move forward. Make sure you use online templates, as these save you money and are always legally binding.