1. The passing along and communication of Values, Beliefs, and Heritage.
2. What to do with items of significant and sentimental value.
3. The commuting of family wealth (money, business, collections, etc...) based on merit.
4. Final wishes concerning disposition and burial. There are some very significant changes that have occurred. Cremation is on this rise over Traditional Burial.

The Key areas of planning are:

And one important associated issue which links to your Legacy is Memorialization and celebration. This is what was originally called a funeral service but now has become known as a Celebration/Tribute. This is significant because it has signaled the changes that have become the hallmarks of the Baby Boomer Generation. There are two sides of a funding plan:

Both sides of the equation must be planned and funded. There are a variety of methods to accomplish this. However, The Funeral Rule of 1986 has given consumers great advantages that were not previously available. The methods of funding, however, is limited to the following.

Personal Savings - access to these funds can be delayed significantly by death for family members without the proper account designations. TOD/POD

Traditional Insurance Proceeds - May be delayed because of the need for a Death Certificate before proceeds are paid to beneficiaries. Your Family will have to come up with the money for the care and disposition of your remains as well as the Celebration event. The Funeral Home can help you with an Assignments of Benefits form as method of payment against your insurance policies, however they will only offer this on a last ditch effort basis.

Donating your Body to Science - This is a truly remarkable and altruistic idea, but you should be aware of some of the draw backs. One of them being - not all your body will necessarily be returned for cremation. The very ill may not be accepted - so then the cremation will not be provided. Cremation is the only choice after a cadaver is used for research.

Pre-Need and Final Expense Insurance Plans - May the perfect answer in that these policies can be earmarked only for your Disposition and Memorialization costs and will not have the same delays as other plans in that they can pay out in as little as 24 hrs. after death.

This method can free up your family's finances and your estates finances. These plans can also be placed into a specific trust called an "Irrevocable Funeral Expense Trust" to shelter them so that your family member can qualify for Government long term care assistance.

Pre-Need plans help you make choices in a packaged format, and can potentially be "PAID OFF" years in advance; leaving your family with the peace of mind and free to begin moving through the grieving process and to enjoy the Legacy Work that you have completed.

Family and/or Charity can pay for your funeral. As with any choice there are pros & cons but with this method the cons out weigh the pros by a lot. For many reasons children can be very compassionate or very vindictive. If you want something specific then plan for it and fund it yourself and leave nothing to chance not even with your favorite child (children). Charities cannot provide for everyone and neither can the State. The rule of thumb should be "Your Body, Your Responsibility".

*** Cautionary note about Cremation... If there is any decent in your immediate family as to whether or not you actually wished to be cremated your entire family will be required to sign off on the authorization form the Funeral Home will need to proceed with the cremation. If you choice can in any way be contested by a family member you will need to make your cremation decision known in writing ahead of time with the full weight of legality through your Last Will and testament and Advance Directives as well as in your planning material you will use to coordinate your wishes and desires.

Advance Directives: Legal documents are very important during every stage of life especially when it comes to a time of crisis. Your wishes in all areas should be expressed and registered formally with legal weight and authority. The only way to do that is to have an umbrella of protection deployed and ready to shelter your wishes from misrepresentation.

Death & Dying conversations -- Quality vs/ Quantity of Life?

The Federal Patient Self-Determination Act assures competent individuals the right to refuse medical interventions, and it protects their right to determine when to discontinue medical treatment.