Final Arrangements

This past week has been a something.  

I've spent time with Mom when I can. She's eating next to nothing, and breathing has become more and more difficult for her. Hospice has been in to let us know that we need to take care of things while we can so that we aren't making decisions in a hurry at the last minute.

So, almost a month after Mom entered Hospice, we have finally taken care of her final arrangements. 

We spent a day at the bank, making certain that the paperwork was taken care of correctly. Let me tell you, you need to take care of this now for your loved ones. If you have elderly parents, make certain that everything is taken care of.  You yourself should take care of this now for yourself just to give you some peace of mind. We had to make certain that we had both the POA and POD paperwork filled out correctly.

We've found a funeral home. They were amazing and kind, and let us know everything that we needed to know in order to get the final paperwork taken care of. They were very low pressure and let us walk out without signing anything and a solid estimate in our hands.

We ended up shopping around for a cemetery. We found two that we both really liked. We ended up finding a place in Maryland around Frederick that is in a beautiful spot. Who knew that so much was involved? My father and his sisters all ended up in the same family plot in the same cemetery that the rest of the family is buried in and has been in for generations. My in-laws both had their ashes spread. 

Do you have a will? A friend of mine had a brother pass away a few years back. He had no other living relatives and no will. Taking care of his finances, his possessions and his final arrangements. It took them months to iron out the paperwork at the bank. The rest of his estate took over a year.

Do yourself a favor.and take care of your final wishes while you have the opportunity. Don't force your family to make last minute decisions. Give them the gift of your last wishes in advance. Let them know what you want so that they aren't forced to make decisions in the middle of great grief.