Final Wishes Section

Hello, again! You’ve made it to the final installment of creating your own emergency binder! (In case you missed it, be sure to at least read the Medical Information section of the last post on the Child(ren) Section, even if you don’t have kids.) In this final section, you will have to make some tough decisions, but doing so now will make it much easier on your loved ones if and when the time comes to make them for you. These documents will show your loved ones without any doubt what your wishes are. Take a deep breath, and let’s get started.

Healthcare Directive

This document will state who you want to have power of attorney over your own healthcare should you become incapacitated and unable to speak for yourself. You can name a backup power of attorney as well. It will state when their power becomes effective, their authority, and their obligations. The end of this document has definitions of terms and your personal instructions for your end-of-life decisions. You will need to answer three questions for three different possible conditions in which you might be unable to make these decisions on your own.

WOMEN: There should be a pregnancy clause included for each of these conditions. Would any of your answers be different if you were pregnant at the time of any of these conditions?

End-of-Life Plan

This document is for the decisions that need to be made once you have passed away. You will appoint someone to speak on behalf of your final wishes and you will need to decide the following:

• Do you want a death announcement online or in print?
• Do you want your organs to be donated? Are you a registered organ donor with your state?
• How do you want the final disposition of your body to be handled? Do you wish to be buried in a specific cemetery? Do you wish to be cremated, and if so, where do you want your ashes scattered?
• Do you want services to be held in your memory? Is there a specific food you want served or song you want played?

There is a section at the end of this document for any other final thoughts you may wish to include.

Last Will and Testament

In your will, you will list whether you are married, have kids, and who your executor should be (the person in charge of ensuring the terms of your will are carried out). Consider the executor part with a lot of thought. You may automatically think you want your spouse or child to take this job, but they will likely be pretty upset at your passing. I know when something tragic hits my life, big tasks feel even bigger. Is there someone who cares for you in life, but may be a bit further removed who could handle it better?

There is also a section for specific bequests (if you want a certain item to go to a specific person), distribution of residue (where you want the remaining, unnamed portion of your assets to go), and a wipeout provision (where you want your assets to go if you have no surviving spouse, children, or grandchildren).

The most important section, in my opinion is where you name a guardian for your children should both you and your spouse pass away prior to them reaching adulthood. You can also decide if whatever you leave your children should remain in a trust until they reach a certain age. 

In addition, you can assign specific wishes for any pets you leave behind, such as choosing a caretaker or leaving a certain amount of money to go toward their care.

For all three of the above documents, you could hire a lawyer to draw these documents up for you. Alternatively, you could also use a website like www.lawdepot.com, which has an easy-to-use system that walks you through each question, and then creates the documents for you. It’s free to use, but does require a subscription to download or print the documents.

Letters to Loved Ones

Here’s the absolute toughest part (emotionally) of this whole emergency binder. I will openly admit, I am still working on this part of my own binder, and my binder has been created for about four years now. You can opt to leave this part out, but I do highly recommend taking the time to do this. It will give your loved ones something to hold onto, some final thoughts and well-wishes from you that they can have forever. My paternal grandma did this and it meant the world to those of us who remained behind after her passing, especially since she was unable to speak toward the end of her life.

You can choose to write one letter for everyone or individual letters for specific people. Either way, I recommend typing it as you work on the rough draft (this allows for easy changes), and then handwriting it out. Yes, it takes more time, but it will mean so much more to your loved ones to have it in your actual handwriting.

I can’t advise you on what to include in these letters, as they are meant to be deeply personal between you and the addressee. Only you know what you should say. It can be a simple paragraph, or ten pages long—whatever you feel is best. Just take your time, think it through, and start writing. 

Congratulations!

You’ve made it through the process of creating your very own emergency binder! Even if you still have some work to do, I applaud you for taking the first steps to begin. Anything that you can get down in writing and included in this binder will drastically simplify life in an emergency situation.

Remember that having the binder is only half the battle. You also have to tell your loved ones that it exists and where to find it.