Many of these forms can be found for free on your state’s Health and Human Services website. This information is educational in nature and does not constitute legal advice.
Advance Directive Comprising two legally binding documents; a Living Will and a Medical Power of Attorney. These documents specify what actions should be taken for your health if you are no longer able to make decisions due to illness or incapacitation.
Note that each state’s rules differ. For example, in the state of Texas a notary is not necessary for your Advance Directive to be valid as long as two witnesses sign. However, those witnesses could be required to appear in a probate court if there is an issue so a notary is recommended.
*Tip - If you live or spend significant time in another state, you may want to complete a form for each.
Medical Power of Attorney
Also known as Health Care Agent (HCA) or Health Care Proxy, this is the chosen person who handles medical decisions on your behalf. You may revoke any part of your advance directive at any time by verbally letting your doctor or agent know, or tearing up the document and writing a new one.
*Tip - Choosing your MPOA is a big decision. Choose someone who will not be afraid to speak up on your behalf and will be willing to enact your wishes over their own. This person must be 18 or older and can not be your doctor or anyone in your health care system. If you designate your spouse that may be automatically revoked by divorce unless otherwise specified in the document.
Living Will
This document lays out the wishes for medical treatment that the MPOA should follow.
*Tip - Some questions to ask yourself before completing this document:
What values make life worth living?
What condition of life is worse than death?
What does being able to communicate mean to you?
Durable Power of Attorney
Also known as POA, Attorney-in-Fact , or Fiduciary, this is the designated agent that handles finances on your behalf should you become incapacitated. Your agent has power over your finances while you are alive only if you are not able to say or do things for yourself.
Some states require a letter from your doctor.
Last Will & Testimony This is a legal document outlining instructions for how to transfer your assets and property. You will name an Executor or person designated to manage your possessions and notify survivors of how and when it will be distributed. You will also choose guardians for any minor children or dependent adults. You can hire a lawyer to draft your will or use an online service such as legalzoom.
*Tip - Naming a guardian for a child does not automatically appoint the selected person as the child’s guardian after the death of the parent. So while this is not legally binding it is very instructive. Make sure you note the contact information of the requested guardian and alternate guardian as well as if there are any funds set aside to care for the child/children. List important information for care such as doctors, allergies, location of documents, comfort/routines/friends.
*Tip - This is a good place to specify care for pets, sentimental possessions, and wishes for social media accounts as well.
Medical Decisions Worksheet
This is a detailed worksheet to indicate treatment preferences or to clarify wishes for hypothetical situations (which will be applied only if that situation becomes relevant in the future). It is simply a worksheet representing wishes regarding various life-sustaining treatment options.
Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) / Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) These forms are recommended for those already living with a serious medical condition or advanced age. They both require a doctor’s signature to be valid.
Body Disposition Authorization
Legal document that declares what you want done with your body. May also include details such as if you want a viewing, organ donation etc. It is helpful to have this as a standalone document.
Appointment for Disposition
Also known as Appointment of Agent to Control Disposition of Remains, this document indicates who is responsible for what happens to your body after death. Without this document your next of kin is automatically responsible. In the state of Texas, next of kin happens in the following order; surviving spouse, surviving adult children, parents, surviving adult siblings. This document is valid once signed and dated by your primary agent. In the state of Texas a notary is not required. A note about organ donation:
- Being an organ donor does not affect in any way the level of emergency treatment you receive. The process goes into effect after you die or are considered permanently brain dead. -If you want your major organs donated you must be in a hospital at the time of passing. Keep in mind your body will likely be taken to another area of the hospital almost immediately after death.
- If you die at home, you can still donate your body to a Willed Body Program in which your entire body is donated to a prearranged school or program.
Dementia Directive- This is a great way to document what type of care you would want at different stages of dementia.
Probate - Both a will and the process of intestacy (when someone dies without valid estate planning documents) are carried out through Probate court. This includes appointing the executor, determining the value of the estate, paying debts, paying taxes, and distributing the rest to beneficiaries. One way to avoid probate court it by setting up a Living Trust.
Living Trust - A legal entity in which you place your assets. These assets still belong to you while you are alive. There are three parties involved. You, the trustee who will manage your assets, and the beneficiaries. A living trust will ensure a quick transfer of your property and assets upon your death. This requires money and effort up front but can make the process much smoother especially for a complex estate. See an estate lawyer for more information.
Give a copy of or email your completed forms to your MPOA and family members as well as your doctors.
Consider registering online with the U.S. Living Will Registry or Mydirectives.com.
Most importantly, talk to your MPOA and family about your wishes.
Logistics
Using our checklist and your Art of Dying binder, you can collect important documents and information in one place. Additionally, you may choose to use a digital assistant such as LastPass. Make sure the person who will be taking care of your affairs knows where to find this information and has access.
Celebration
Living Wake - A living wake is generally the same type of ceremony as a traditional wake or funeral, except it happens before the person has died. It's a chance for a community of friends and family to come together and tell a loved one the impact they have made on their lives, while they are still here to hear it. Some also choose to write their own eulogy.
Legacy Project - Everyone leaves a legacy. For some it’s a major life work, children, or improving their community. For others, it can be a collection of recipes, journals, or videos, scrapbooking, and/or creating a photo album, to name a few ideas. The way we face our deaths can also become part of our legacy. Creating a legacy project can be an important part of our psychological and intellectual processes.
Ethical Will - Your ethical will is passing on your life lessons and values to others after you die. For example you might leave a letter to your child or friend about what you’ve learned being a man/woman/business owner/activist etc. Think about what your hopes are for the future and what life events have shaped you.
Life Review- Often this takes the form of an oral or written history. We can walk you through an interview to share with your loved ones or you can create your own. There are also opportunities to record your stories through StoryCorps or StoryWorth.
Comfort and Care
Reiki - Reiki is a form of energy healing that originated in Japan in the early 20th century. According to the International Center for Reiki Training the practice is based on the idea that we all have an unseen “life force energy” flowing through our bodies. A Reiki practitioner gently moves their hands just above the client’s body with the intention of promoting healing and a healthy flow of energy.
Mindful Movement - Bringing awareness and sensation to your physical body through various postures and stretches. The intention is to give your body as much release and opening as possible in a way that feels supportive and productive to you. Mindful movement can be done standing, seated, lying on the floor, and/or in bed, autonomously or gently facilitated.
Guided Imagery - This practice takes you through a mental exercise that uses all five of your senses to invoke curiosity and creative visualizations while helping reduce anxiety and stress.
Embodied Awareness - Another type of mental exercise that connects you to the present moment by focusing on your breath and body.
Sound Therapy - Sound, music and specialist instruments played in therapeutic ways, combined with deep self-reflection techniques to improve health and wellbeing.
Aromatherapy - The practice of using essential oils for therapeutic benefit. Aromatherapy has been used for centuries. When inhaled, the scent molecules in essential oils travel from the olfactory nerves directly to the brain and especially impact the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain.
