Everybody has a list of things to do before they die (as in list of things they want to do), but how many of us actually think about things we need to do before we die? These are things that shouldn’t be waited on and definitely shouldn’t take more than a few hours. Here’s the list of mine (and yes, I’ve done them already).
1. Create a Will. Don’t assume your spouse or children will get everything when you die. This is definitely NOT the case. Make sure you do this ASAP. The state gets your belongings and your surviving family will have a hell of a time trying to get it sorted out. Just get it out of the way for them.
2. Create a Living Trust. Don’t assume that you your children will be taken care of. This is NOT the case. You can also explicitly list whether you want to be on life-support and live as your favorite vegetable or go see whatever higher being or plane of existence there is.
3. Buy life insurance. Take care of those you love when you’re no longer around. Make the trust the beneficiary and you won’t have bickering relatives to deal with.
There are two ways to do this.
1. Get a lawyer.
2. Do it yourself.