I know the name of the site is Prepared to Survive and not Prepared to Die.
When I ask this question I am not trying for drama.

We can't know when we will go.
It might be when we are old and decrepit, or it might be when we are still young.
We can't know how we will go.
It might be from natural causes or by accident.
It might be after a long illness, or it might be suddenly.

All any of us can really know is that eventually we will die, in spite of everything we can do to prevent it.

It is our wives and our kids who will have to deal with the aftermath when we are no longer living. I think most of us want it to be easier for them.

So, I ask those who have thought about it or had to deal with the aftermath of the death of somebody close:

What should you do to prepare your family for you eventual death?

A will?
Tell everybody how much they mean to you every day?
Make sure there will be financial records available to whomever inherits?
Funeral preparations (like type of service or type of burial)?

What Else?
What kind of things do you think should be done or discussed to prepare people in case you die?


I repeat, I am not trying for melodrama here.

Interesting twist. Being single, without kids, I haven't done much. Pretty much told my parents and GF that they can have whatever organs they want. I even joke that when I'm old and decrepit, they have to promise to drop me off on the side of the road in some national park, facing west to watch the sunset, and I'll just turn into bear poop. The hell with nursing homes.

Of course not. Nobody is.

I've seen enough death close up and personal and nothing - nothing you can do will prepare those you left behind.

I have come to the conclusion, after seeing death first hand, after experiencing near-death situations of my own, and seeing the aftermath of it all, that this life on earth that we have now is all there is, and all we'll get, so I don't obsess over what happens after I'm dead. To be blunt - it's the problem of those who live on after me and I have all the confidence in the world that they will figure out how to go on with their lives.

I've done what I can to leave some money, and to try to give my family a perspective on it all that is basically "carry one, we all go one way or another" and that's it.

A list of internet accounts (commercial & social) along with the passwords. If the DW dies at least I'll still be able to access our on-line banking as well as tell her homeschooling forum members what happened to her. (not that I expect anything to happen to her!)

-Blast

So, Blast.... if your DW goes happen to go first, what are the plans for the cat?

About 15 years ago I found out that my lawyer's son was taking the Hunters Safety Course and was in need of a deer rifle. I had a new-in-the-box Winchester 94XTR, 30-30 and traded it for Wills and Power-of-Attorney for my wife and I. Creative bartering I thought.

I must admit that my wife knows nothing of our finances and I should really write the information down for her.

Funeral arrangements are easy, .... dust! Spark-up the oven and throw me back in the bush where I can help something grow. Aside from my children, organ donation and contributing to society, it is a sure way to, live on forever.

My 2 cents, YMMV.

Mike

Timely question. It's nearing midnight and I'm about to take my dog out for a walk in Washington, D.C.

She's been fed and had an extra treat so if I perish tonight someone might notice before she gets real hungry.

My sister gets everything and promises to care for the pup.

She's supposed to have my remains sprinkled on Mt. Hood. What's a little more ash on a volcano?

And I've always been signed up to be an organ donor so all would not be for naught.

Am I prepared? Somewhat.

Am I ready? Certainly not.


;-)

my wife and i were/are hospital workers who have together over 40 years of patient-family dealings and know what happens to the unprepared.we even have it worked out who cares for the canoe dogs if we go out together.

Speaking materialistically, I try to keep everything in order for the loved ones that will survive me. I've also said that I fear not death but I do fear surviving and ending up totally dependent on others. I guess there's really no way to know how we will face death until our time comes.

I have a will that provides for my family.

My baseball cards should go to my brother ("John"), that's not spelled out in the will but it should be here. They are worth about $45,000, before this recession. He should get that because I used to steal from his stash of weed growing up.

I am not ready to die. But if I die tomorrow, I'll remember the three times I knowingly cheated death, and how I keeped living beyond deadline. And the four women I loved in life. I hope to live long enough to cheat death at least once more.

I live the lines in movies - I hope that I am grateful for my victories, and humbled by my defeats. And there is so much beauty...

I'll keep my word and carry certain secrets to my grave. They don't matter much anyway.

I think I will suffer strokes before I die, if I have a natural death. That is my family's pattern. I don't want to die like my Dad will someday. He is alone, albeit surrounded by family, without any options of his own. I hope when that time comes for me I have family who understand this, and help me end it better than Dad and his Dad. I don't know if I can go all alone.

My Mom jokes about investing in an ice floe, but without humor that's how I prefer to go, facing the polar bear rather than a bed in assisted living. If I need assistance, its not living, to me. Dammit, the Inuits have most things right about life, and death. Apologies to SAR who finds my grisly carcass, but you're in my will too so I hope it doesn't traumatize anyone carrying me out.

I say this as a 47 year old, knowing alot more than I did at 25. Take it as my testament.