OK Folks, I've hit another birthday and my thoughts have turned to my dwindling years. I'm planning my 'death book', being the resource that my survivors will go to for instructions, advice, letters, wills, and plans. So far I have: The goodbye letters The inventory of assets, passwords, locations etc. The Will Any other suggestions? This video blew my mind and I share it with you all:
I'm pondering the PMs I have on hand. I have some delights which may or may not survive me. How do you all plan to advise your legacy or beneficiaries on how to deal with your precious?
The music list for your funeral. Dolly Parton - Knocking on Heaven's Door. Johny Cash's Burning Ring of Fire if you're going to be cremated.
Have you set up a enduring guardianship or enduring POA with instructions and authorisations should you be living but unable to make financial / medical decisions yourself?
I had the same experience when my father died. At the start of the cleanup we were quite cautious, should we keep this, or throw it? By the third skip bin possessions were being tossed away wholesale. It was heartbreaking, but I can only fit so much into my own house. Since that time, I have tried to not buy more stuff, and get rid of existing stuff. I don't want stuff anymore. Sometimes I stare at my stuff and imagine my survivors chucking it in a skip bin. As I know they will not care about so many of the things I hold dear. Or not realise their value. I really appreciate that my father wrote some notes with marker pen on boxes of stuff, like "this item goes with that item" and "valuable - XYZ". Those boxes survived the skips.
I am a bit cynical on these things now, and imagine enthusiastic family members looking up spot price and multiplying it by ounces discovered. Of course my hope would be that the pm's would be preserved for future generation's time of need, but....surely there is a study about new cars being purchased within 3 months of an estate's settlement?
Suggestion - for each asset, a suggested management and disposal pathway - eg Shares - broker name - dividend destination account ; rental property - property manager details - note this house needs air con servicing every 6 months, neighbour on LHS may complain re overhanging tree.
Suggestion - ancestor history - names, occupation etc, location of graves etc. this info is easily lost to future generations at time of death.
Although I have a long way to go (hopefully!) until I’m in my older years (I’m currently in my late 20’s), I’ve already culled a lot of excess crap. I used to be like any other millennial in their early 20’s... buying the latest and shiniest gadgets, drinking every weekend, living paycheck to paycheck. Then one day out of the blue, I ended a long term relationship and booked a one way ticket to Canada. Didn’t know anyone there, let alone never seen snow before! Lived mostly in the Rockies for about 5-6 years, my whole life’s possessions in a large backpack and a snowboard bag. And I think that’s where I learnt to live really simply and to maximize what you already have. Anyway, now that I’ve been home for about a year and set up a good long term career, I still live by that simple and clutter free mantra. And now the only thing I like to buy every week that’s the latest and shiniest is precious metals
Some great advice here. These are just a couple of extra details I've attempted to cover. 1 - Making sure my Will doesn't assume that I'll die independently of my executors / family. Families die together every day in car accidents ect. So I've planned , were possible, accordingly. 2 - I'm very tech savy, while my wife isn't. I own Bitcoin for example. So I've made sure she knows who she can turn too for help, when liquidating assets / accessing online resources.
Yes I agree, remember to include details of electronic assets, like loyalty program points (which can be substantial in value), similarly some people have large iTunes collections etc.
Actually, I'd like to add an additional note to this discussion. All of us old farts here are crapping on about protecting our own interests. Warning : I'm about to use caps and bold, which I never use. TELL YOUR CHILDREN TO WRITE DOWN THEIR BLOODY PASSWORDS....AND DO IT TODAY!!! Please..... Please , trust me, this is very important!!! Me and my better half have spent the last 3 months banging our heads against a virtual wall. Sadly our son drowned in a stupid accident about 3 months ago. Every part of his life was stored online. We're still struggling to get the pictures of his only daughter, thanks to cloud services. I'm only noting this now, because we've just spent another Saturday trawling through his personal belongings, looking for info If only one person takes this on board, I'll rest happy.
Now they're trying to ease Australia into inheritance taxes. It all starts with innocuous articles in the news. https://www.smh.com.au/federal-elec...-actually-be-a-good-idea-20190422-p51g6z.html
Yea.... It has been very tough . Nothing we ever saw coming. We have cried...... and laughed ( at his past antics ) our way through the last 3 months. But, we're both very pragmatic people. If nothing is learnt from this tragedy, then surely what was the point of his life? Many lessons have been learnt, most of which are irrelevant here, but if I can help one parent..... Then job done
Thank you everyone for your replies to date. It is sometimes a painful subject, when death is indiscriminate, so thank you Silver260 for sharing. Apparently "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is one of the most popular funeral songs, and treating the funeral as a celebration of the person's life is my preferred end point. I see something simple and relaxed. Has anyone perspectives on how detailed funeral instructions should be?