What an Honor Walk Taught Me About End-of-Life Planning

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney or tax accountant. The following information is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered formal legal or tax advice.

We lined a hospital hallway waiting for my brother’s best friend and his family.  It was the quietest I had ever heard a large gathering of Filipinos.  After 30 minutes, I heard a faint sound of music.  At first, I thought that someone had started watching a video while we waited.  Then, I saw the hospital bed with his body connected to tubes and machines.  His wife, children, parents and sister followed behind.  I learned that this is known as the Honor Walk - a silent, respectful hospital tradition where doctors, nurses, and loved ones line the hallways to pay tribute to a dying patient being wheeled to the operating room to donate their organs.  He died unexpectedly at 47 years old.  

I may be at the life stage when people - direct and indirect connections - are dying.  All of them were unexpected.  No prolonged illness.  Sudden deaths of natural causes.

So it made me think about what I needed to do to make the process easier for my survivors.  Contingency planning is my super power!

Review and update my estate plan

I updated my estate plan after my divorce. But life is always changing.  I recently reviewed my Will and decided to make changes based on current family circumstances, estate tax planning, and considering who would benefit most from my assets.

If you do not already have an estate plan, resist using online forms to do this yourself.  Hire an attorney so your estate plan complies with state laws.  This is one of the greatest gifts that you can leave your survivors to maintain family harmony (or minimize disagreements) and make sure that your wishes are clear.

Review and update my beneficiary designations

I logged on to my accounts and verified that my beneficiary designations align with my wishes - again based on current family circumstances, estate tax planning, and considering who would benefit most from my assets.

Organize my documents

I organized important documents in one folder and locked it in the fireproof safe.  I also instructed my son how to open the safe.

Here is a list of documents to include.  You may have other documents not listed here.

• Estate Plan - Last will and testament, financial power of attorney, and advance medical directives

• Identification - Birth certificates, passports, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, prenuptial agreements and adoption papers.

• Employment agreements

• Business agreements

• Property titles and deeds

• Loan agreements

• Credit report - This may be useful for survivors to track down active accounts.

• Prepaid funeral agreement

• Cemetery plot deed 

• Printed list of assets and contacts - I created this template as a starting point for you.  Some of the listed items may not relate to you and you may have other items not listed here.

• Letter of instruction - For those who know me, I like to give instructions so why let death stop me.  My letter may include action items for the first 30 days (e.g. pay property taxes, inform my Wealth Advisor, contact my closest friends) and specific instructions on burial (e.g. cremation, composting or green burial).

This list may be different for your personal situation and as life evolves, this folder will need to be updated.

Clean up my password manager

So many passwords from my personal and professional life.  I reviewed, deleted and organized passwords in my password manager.  I have a family account so I can share select passwords with trusted contacts.

This is not a comprehensive list, but it provides a starting point to make settling your estate easier for those you leave behind.