Overview

By addressing our financial and legal documentation during our lives, we can help make our passing easier on those left being both emotionally and financially.

By getting our finances in order and passing over the relevant information you may reduce the likelihood of inheritance taxes and heartache. This will help ensure that your money goes where you want it to be allocated (and not on local and regional taxes).

Have you put any money aside for your funeral?

 Data attained from the Digital Death Survey 2014.

Financial checklist

• Apply for any outstanding benefits or money that is owed to you
• Close any unused bank accounts
• Pay any outstanding bills (taxes)
• Close gym memberships, any other lifestyle monthly direct debits
• Consider changing your monthly mobile phone tariff to Pay as You Go (PAYG).
• Pass on the keys for any safe deposit boxes (if you are lucky enough to have one)
• Pay any credit cards, loans, unpaid tax returns or unpaid bills.
• Think about closing premium software subscriptions (like Linkedin) subscriptions and how you plan to pay for your websites hosting etc once you have died.
• Once you have considered the financial implications of the areas highlighted above tell someone or include directions as to how you would like them addressed in your will.
• Ways to reduce the cost
• In many countries such as in the UK and the USA the ‘cost of dying’ is increasing ahead of the rate of inflation. There are many ways in which we can reduce the ‘cost of dying’ and the outlay required for a funeral. These include arranging your own funeral and obtaining financial support. You may also want to consider requesting that money is donated towards the costs of the funeral as an alternative to flowers

Obtaining financial support

There are funds set aside in many countries to help deal with the increasing costs of funerals and the number of people in debt due to ‘funeral poverty’. We have outlined where financial support can be attained in the UK and USA. We will expand this section to include other countries in the coming months.

Arrange your own Funeral

Arrange your own funeral By arranging our own funeral we are able to bypass the requirement of a funeral director and in doing so reduce costs. Arranging your own funeral can be a cost effective to plan your own passing. It can also help to reduce the anxiety for those left behind by reducing the number of emotionally demanding tasks. These may include purchasing your own coffin, headstone etc. This more detailed guide on how to arrange your own funeral can be read here

"Nothing is certain in life but death and taxes" - Daniel Defoe (1660 - 1731)