Taking time to plan ahead

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” is the famous saying attributed to American founding father Benjamin Franklin in his 1789 letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy.

Although this was written around 237 years ago, some still don’t take the time to plan for a death that will eventually come to us all.

But according to Katy Mandeno, founder of Northland-based death advocacy and knowledge platform Go With Grace, planning ahead can be the best gift you can give to your loved ones.

“We all know we are going to die. Most of us try to avoid it, but that doesn’t change the outcome. The best-case scenario is that we have these conversations with our families and loved ones before we die so that we are not leaving a huge burden to our families to have to make all the decisions and tidy up our lives after we have gone.”

Planning ahead can include creating a will, setting up an enduring power of attorney, creating an advance care plan and using a planning tool to put the final pieces in place for the end of your life.

According to Public Trust, around 50% of adult New Zealanders do not have a will, which can leave important estate decisions to be determined by law rather than by their own wishes.

A will can set out how your property and other assets should be distributed, appoint guardians for children, provide instructions for a family business and name the executors responsible for carrying out your wishes.

Wills should be kept up to date, especially after major life changes such as marriage, separation, entering a new relationship or significant changes to assets and liabilities.

“People think lawyers are expensive, but I can tell you it is a whole lot more expensive if people don’t have a will in place,” Mandeno says.

Having an enduring power of attorney (EPA) is another piece of the puzzle, allowing you to choose someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make or communicate those decisions yourself.

There are two types of EPA: one covering personal care and welfare, including health and wellbeing, and another covering property, money and other assets. Without an EPA, family members or friends do not automatically have the legal right to make decisions for you, even if they are your spouse, partner or children.

People can also consider creating an advance care plan, which allows them to record their preferences for future healthcare, particularly if illness or injury means they can no longer communicate their wishes.

Planning can be useful at any stage of life and involves thinking and talking about personal values, goals and the treatment or care someone would or would not want, including end-of-life care.

Once completed, an advance care plan can be shared with the person’s GP and other health professionals involved in their care.

The Advance Care Planning website, MyACP, is a national resource where people can access free information, templates and booklets online.

While a will, EPA and an advance care plan help put practical and legal aspects of planning ahead in place, there are other tools available for people looking to add a more personal touch to their departure, such as the Go With Grace online planning tool, which gives people the ability to record their end-of-life wishes and plan how they want to be farewelled.

Mandeno says the planning tool helps capture details other planning documents might miss. These include social media passwords, banking and insurance information, who will look after your pets, what music you want at your farewell and even which photographs you want used.