You Can't Leave Till You Do the Paperwork : Matters of Life and Death

About the Book

Did you know? A will is the cornerstone of estate planning, and although the word estate has a lofty sound, it is simply all you own plus all that is owed to you, minus all that is owed by you.

For the average wage earner with a family, Social Security benefits are equal to a $300,000 life insurance policy or a $200,000 disability insurance policy.

A divorced spouse whose marriage lasted at least ten years may be eligible to draw one-half the amount of his/her former spouse’s benefits when both reach retirement age.

Since the Patient Self-Determination Act became law in 1991, every patient over the age of 18, when admitted to a hospital, must be given the opportunity to declare an advance directive (living will).

The number one response from hospice patients and families in a recent survey was “why didn’t we know about hospice sooner?”

The number of persons waiting for organ transplants has increased 41% in the last two years, yet donations have leveled off. Forty percent of Americans consider organ transplantation experimental surgery. It is not.

A funeral is the third most expensive singe purchase most consumers ever make, after their home and car. The average cost of a traditional funeral is $5,500 -- $8,000 including burial and marker.

Cremation is cheaper than the conventional burial, even if the deceased chooses to be shot into space. In 1966, the encapsulated ashes of two late space cadets, Timothy Leary and Gene Roddenberry, were launched into space from a U.S. Satellite. Cost $4,800 per capsule.

When following the paper trail after an unexpected death, start with the check registry.

*Unique strategies are helpful in coping with various types of loss: loss of a child, a spouse, a friend, or a pet. Support groups made up of those suffering the same type loss are especially beneficial.

Children grieve differently from adults, and that grief creates different responses at each stage of development. Understanding by parents, friends, and teachers of those varied responses can lessen a child’s grief and confusion.

These are only a few of the topics dealt with in this book. Names, addresses, phone numbers, and web sites as well as lists of organizations and agencies listed by state will aid the reader in his/her decision making. There are ways to gain legal authority over health care (living wills, health proxies), financial affairs (wills, trusts, insurance) and so much more.

Knowing your options is the first step in making wise choices. The next step is doing the necessary paperwork –much of it is simple, most of it is without cost. The stroke of a pen puts you in charge, and suddenly you have a great deal of control over how life’s story plays out.