Thoughtful Exit Planning for Elder Orphans

October 15

Over View of Your Exit File™, and Choosing Your Person

Give yourself and your family peace of mind by providing a map for them of your documents and wishes in the event of you not being able to speak for yourself. We will go through the Exit File™ binder I have developed that makes it doable to “fill in the blanks” and know that you have all your bases covered. We will also discuss how to choose your Medical Durable Power of Attorney, the most important decision you will make regarding your end-of-life wishes

 

October 22

Discerning your Personal Values and Beliefs and Considering your Legacy

The key to being able to voice your choice at the end of life is first knowing what your values and beliefs are. Using different assessment tools and conversation we will discern what is important in death, (and thus in life!). We will also consider our emotional and spiritual legacy.

 

October 29

Living Will, Dementia Directives, CPR Directives and MOST forms

The standard Living Will only comes in to play in very limited circumstances, and does not address our stronger likelihood of our biggest fear, living with advanced disability or dementia.  We will consider different ways to access an “exit ramp” if you find yourself not living with what you define as quality of life. We will also discuss the specific use of the CPR Directive and the MOST Forms.

 

November 5

Writing your Personal Statement in order to Communicate your Wishes for  Treatment at the End-of-Life —

A Critical Piece of your Medical Directives

Your wishes for your treatment at the end-of-life will hold much more weight if they are relayed in your own words, rather than initials on a form. We will utilize a template that I developed as a thought-jogger in order to address the many aspects of end-of-life treatment, such as definition of quality of life, dementia, aggressive treatments, financial considerations, hospice preferences, etc.

 

**NO CLASS NOVEMBER 12**

 

NOVEMBER 19

  Green Burials and Organ & Body Donations

There are options for body disposition beyond conventional burial and cremation, including green burial and flameless cremation.  We will also explore the often-confusing options of live organ donation for transplant and whole body donation.

 

 

NOVEMBER 26

 Making your Funeral and Memorial Arrangements

It has been proven that families often over-spend when they have to make funeral arrangements for a loved one while still in shock and deep grief. And if they don’t know what you would have wanted, they are left to guess. So we will walk through the process “up-stream” as a gift to your family. You may even be inspired to write your own obituary!