Dear lazywebs,

Here's a topic that I believe some of you are much better-versed in than me: end of life planning. The bigger story here is that S's mom has been requesting help with end of life planning, and I recently realized that when we go to visit her later this summer, that might be a really big thing I could potentially help her with that would be a huge gift, PLUS it would help me get myself situated on that front, too (you never know, right?).

My understanding from some cursory internet searches is that there are ~5 major things to tackle. Do I remember what they all are? No, I do not. Something about advance directives, something about a will, something about getting buried or burned*, and...

In this particular case, a long checklist and templates would be especially helpful, plus an idea as to what needs to happen to ensure things are official (notary, lawyer, etc). This is for someone in the greater Minneapolis area.

I was hoping to discuss this with my mom before posting here, but due to our various travel schedules she and I haven't had a chance to talk about this topic yet. My mom actually gave a presentation not too long ago on "How to have a good death" based on everything she and my dad did to prepare ahead of his death (which, yes. My mom says it was a lot of work, but as one of the survivors I'm grateful for everything the two of them did to prepare). But more than one perspective might be helpful, and her experience is Washington-based so I'm curious to know if there are any state-specific things we need to know.



*Monty Python reference