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Originally published April 18, 2018 and updated April 4, 2023.
This is a sponsored post. As always, all opinions are my own.
Organize your documents and state your wishes in this free 17-page End-of-Life Checklist. Gathering and organizing all this information is an invaluable way to show your family how much you care.
There are many things I admire about my parents, but one of the most poignant is how organized they were in preparing for their passing decades before it occurred. Years ago, my parents organized all their personal information into an End-of-Life Checklist that contained everything I needed to know when they passed away.
This End-of-Life Checklist was in addition to their wills, living wills and other legal documents. The checklist was invaluable to me because it contained everything I needed to know in one document.
At the time that my parents passed, somewhat unexpectedly and within 6 months of each other, I was grieving hard and certainly not at my best. If I’d had to figure out where to find all my parents’ estate and personal information it would have been a daunting task. Thankfully, with my parents’ forethought in creating their preparing for death checklist, I knew exactly where to begin the complicated process of settling their estate. Get your copy of the printable End-of-Life Checklist and create your own tool for your family to use.
Death is not something most of like to think or talk about, let alone prepare for. But after my recent experience losing my parents, I can sincerely tell you that having an end-of-life checklist completed is a truly helpful gift that you can leave for your loved ones.
In addition to creating a will, a trust or any other legal documents, you should create and End-of-Life Checklist to help your loved ones know where to find everything they will need to settle your estate. The End-of-Life Checklist is a supplement to the legal documents you should have already created.
End-of-life planning is a crucial process that everyone should undertake and is often overlooked or delayed due to the uncomfortable nature of the topic. It’s much easier to make the best choices and have the important conversations now rather than waiting until your final days.
Taking the time to plan for end-of-life is incredibly important for both you and your loved ones. By planning for the future, you can ensure that your wishes are met and that your loved ones are not left with the burden of making difficult decisions during an already stressful and emotional time.
End-of-life planning involves several important steps, such as:
These can be tough decisions and emotional decisions that can be difficult to make. However, they are crucial to ensuring that your wishes are carried out and that your loved ones are not left to guess about your desires.
Additionally, end-of-life planning can provide peace of mind for both you and your loved ones. By taking control of your future and making your wishes known, you can alleviate the stress and uncertainty that often surrounds end-of-life care. You can also ensure that your loved ones are able to focus on spending time with you and providing emotional support, rather than making difficult decisions on your behalf.
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Allow for several hours to gather and compile the information. You may find it best to work on one page of the checklist each day until you complete it.
Take the time you need to thoroughly consider your desires and to hunt down all the information your family will need. This may involved time and effort on your part. I encourage you to invest that time and effort to help your loved ones in the future. It’s a gift that you will give them, a gift that will ease their minds at a time of grief.
There is redundancy in where you list information in this End-of-Life Checklist. This is by design. When your family is grieving, they won’t be functioning as effectively as they usually do. Providing the same information in multiple locations can be helpful to them when they are operating through the fog of grief.
To get your free copy of the printable 17-page End-of-Life Checklist, simply sign up for our free newsletter below. The printable checklist pdf will be sent right away to your inbox.
This free 17-page checklist will help you gather important papers and make difficult decisions to to plan for basic end-of-life care. If you’d like a more detailed, comprehensive workbook, you’ll want to look at my 81-page comprehensive End-of-Life Binder.
Use the Free Printable – Family Story Jewelry Tags to make sure that the history and family stories about special pieces of jewelry is maintained and passed along.
As a former patient advocate, I know that it can be difficult to keep track of your medical information, especially in the middle of the situation. I’ve just learned about a great new resources, the Abridge app, it’s an easy way to record and keep track of your health history.
With the Abridge app you can:
It makes it much easier to be a responsible patient and share accurate information with your loved ones and care givers.
Important documents to consider including:
You may also want to consider adding to your End-of-Life Checklist a list of online passwords in a secure location for your loved ones to use to access and check accounts. Please leave this list in printed form (I was unable to read my father’s handwriting for many of the passwords) and in a secure location.
It would also be a good idea to add a list of professional contacts for resources you have used:
You can choose the free 17-page End-of-Life Checklist or the 83-page Comprehensive End-of-Life Binder to meet your specific needs.
The more comprehensive 83-page End-of-Life Checklist Binder includes worksheets to provide more complete and detailed information in the categories above. Additionally, worksheets allow you space to record your end-of-life wishes and details about:
Even with the End-of-Life Checklist that my parents left for me, settling their estate was a time consuming task. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like if my parents had not invested the time and energy in organizing their estate and paperwork for me. This estate checklist was truly invaluable to me. I have already created one for my children. I encourage you to take the time to do the same for your loved ones. And be sure to keep your End-of-Life Checklist in a secure place, like a safe or safety deposit box since it contains sensitive information.
Organize personal information in a In Case of Emergency Binder for you own personal use with this comprehensive binder from my friend, Corinne, at WondermomWannabe.
