What is a Death Plan and Why Should I Create One?
If you were to suddenly die tomorrow, do the people closest to you know what you would want? If you want to be buried, cremated, or donated to science. Where you would want to be buried, where to spread your ashes, where to donate your body. What kind of funeral, celebration or memorial you would want. What music to play, what flowers to display, what pictures to hang. Unless this is a topic you regularly discuss with them, the answer is likely “no”.
Now, they might know you well enough to assume your wishes and to execute on plans that would closely align to what you would actually want. However, they’ve just suddenly lost you, their spouse, their parent, their child, and now while dealing with the shock and grief, they also have to do the mundane work of planning your funeral.
Imagine if they had a short document that illustrated all of your desires and wishes and they could reference that instead of having to make all of these decisions during one of the saddest times of their lives? Wouldn’t that help take just a little bit of weight off of their shoulders?
what is a death plan?
A death plan or The Big Sleep Document is a 2-3 page summarized and organized plan of your final wishes for before you die, as you die, and after you die. It includes higher level information like written memories of your favorite moments from your life for your loved ones to look back on and goes into finer details such as what kind of flowers you would like at your funeral, what music to play, and what outfit you want to be buried in.
It is designed to be editable because you might change your mind over time, and is also encouraged to share it with your core circle of people, or those who will be in charge of carrying out your plans when your time comes.
some things that will be discussed and planned in your death plan:
Decide who will help carry out your plans before, during, and after your death
Make sure you have all your legal paperwork in order (will, DNR, power of attorney, etc.)
Write out any pre-death, post-death, funeral, burial, or celebration wishes you have
Determine who you want involved (family, friends, religious leaders, death doulas, etc.)
Create a list of logins and passwords for any subscriptions or accounts that will need to be closed
Organize important papers and documents (birth certificate, marriage license, life insurance, bank accounts, credit cards, etc.)
Document your favorite memories from your life and how you want to be remembered
Why should I create a death plan?
Most people won’t actually start thinking about their death until they are much older or if they are unfortunately diagnosed with a terminal illness. Sometimes, waiting too long can create chaos to get things planned and organized before it’s too late. So, the best time to start planning for your death is when you are still healthy and capable of doing so.
There are many different reasons you might want to have a death plan. Some people want to make sure their religious or spiritual desires are carried out, some don’t want to put the burden of planning on their family, and some want to make sure everything is in order for their own peace of mind.
Whatever your reasoning is, talking through and documenting your wishes and desires will not only be beneficial to you, but it will also help those around you when the time comes to plan for your end of life needs.
To get started on your own death plan, schedule a free consultation.
