It’s not morbid, it’s reality
Our mortality is something that most of us don’t think of until we are laying on a hospital bed, hooked to tubes while our loved ones are alive and well; powerless over what has become of us. Imagine the thoughts racing through your head, as you realize that you are in the final weeks or even minutes of your life. When you ask your doctor “How long do I have?” and he tells you a few months at most.
Tomorrow may be too late
You might be thinking about your affairs. The legacy you left behind or the mess you left also. The phrase “mess of our lives” is predominant in our culture, but how about “mess of our deaths?” Most of us don’t really have this in order because we don’t really want to think about the inevitable until most of the time until it’s too late.
It could happen to you
Here is a story to put things in perspective for you.
My friend, who just had a baby and got married not too long ago, found out he has stage four terminal cancer. Imagine the shock that was to a man who was just starting his life out; a man who didn’t smoke, and by all measures led a pretty healthy lifestyle. Of course, he wasn’t prepared either – who would be at that age? Fortunately, he was able to start a crowd-funding project which helped pay his hospital bills and other expenses.
So, don’t wait until you only have a few years left or even a few weeks to get your affairs in order. The fact that each of our lives has an end date should be motivation to create the best life possible lives for us and inspiration to create the best life possible for those we love after we are gone.
So, while you are writing your bucket list about everything that you want to do in this life, here is a list from an expert on everything you need to do in this life.
The bucket-bucket list
Chris Sabatino, director of The American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging, suggests six things to do before you die.
- Make you sure you give someone power of attorney to plan your affairs if you become too sick to handle them yourself. Make sure you have someone to pay your bills, manage your financial affairs, deposit your checks, and manage your business.
- Write a will. You are exempt up to $5.45 million dollars, in other words, you can transfer up to 5.45 million worth of property tax-free. You can also give gifts up to $14,000 to a person or charitable organization tax-free.
- Write an advanced care or living will and give it to someone you trust. This document will give them medical power of attorney, which gives them the authority to carry out your wishes about your medical treatment at the end of your life.
- If you have dependale children, make sure you name a guardian to take care of them. If you have a disabled child, make sure you consult with a medical professional who can guide you through the difficult legalities of Medicare and Medicaid.
- Preplanning your funeral will ease the trauma and suffering that your loved ones will have to go through. Also, leave instructions on how you want your body to be disposed.
- Create a life insurance plan which will insure that your spouse and children have financial support after you are gone.
You can ease the suffering for everyone if you are proactive in making sure your affairs are in order.
#BucketBucketList
