In the past few years, I’ve done a bit of work getting my own end of life arrangements in order. So, for anyone who hasn’t got their or their families arrangements in order, here are my suggestions:
- Get an Advance Care Plan so everyone is clear on your wishes when it comes to care and refusing treatment.
- Make sure you have an Enduring Guardian and Enduring Power of Attorney involving one or more people.
- Get a will and if you have one make sure it’s up to date and reflects your wishes as of today and not 20 years ago when you first did it.
- Give some thought to your ‘final arrangements’ and stick some money aside.
- Make sure one or more people know all of the above and where the map is with directions to the tins of cash and gold buried in your backyard.
You can do it all yourself online, you can get a lawyer or you can, as I did, use the Public Trustee. Some unions also offer a free will service to their members via their law firm of record.
Some documents I used:
- NSW Government general overview
- NSW Govt. Advance Care Plan
- SA Govt general ‘end-of-life’ planning document
Friends are great at recommending funeral directors, law firm, and financial advisers who could help out. Ask around. Someone you know has been through this, and they’re not going to recommend poor service providers.
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