Civic Coffee Recap: End-of-Life Planning

How can we plan ahead for our end-of-life with confidence?

This was a question explored in Age Friendly Seattle and The Seattle Public Library’s May Civic Coffee event on end-of-life planning. The panel featured insights from Reed Longyear’s associate attorney Emily Tyson-Shu, Known Wishes consultant Kay Longhi, and People’s Memorial Association’s communication director, Rachel LeBlanc.

Proactive is better than reactive

There are many choices we can make about our end-of-life. For example, body disposal options include cremation, conventional burial, green burial, alkaline hydrolysis, natural organic reduction, and full body donation. Other decisions include how we want to disperse our assets and whether or not we would want emergency medical intervention to sustain our life.

While it can be uncomfortable to think about these choices, they are better made now than in moments of emergency. Doing this work ahead of time also limits legal concerns about your competency or undue influence of others regarding your legal documents.

Step 1: Identify your preferences

It’s possible you don’t care what happens to your body or assets once you die and you opt for whatever seems like the default to you. But it’s also possible that you have preferences based on your religion, culture, past experiences, budget, care for ecological impact, or other aspects of your life.

These are very important to consider and also very personal. No one knows your preferences better than yourself. It’s okay to take time to think about it, and also to change your mind throughout your life.

Step 2: Communicate your preferences

Once you’ve identified your preferences, communicate them with your loved ones and your doctor, and document them through writing for legal purposes.

The panelists advise you to have at least one conversation with your family members about your end-of-life plan. While it may feel awkward, it will help everyone get on the same page. If your wants change, just update your loved ones.

It is also useful to communicate with your care providers about end-of-life planning, particularly regarding natural death, medical aid in dying, and voluntarily stopping eating and drinking and stopping treatment. Depending on your choices, you may need your doctor’s support signing legal documents, particularly the Portable Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST), which communicates to emergency responders what kind of life sustaining treatment you would want if experiencing a healthcare crisis outside of a hospital. Your doctor is your resource.

There are several legal documents which communicate your end-of-life plan, including the POLST. Luckily, there is one step-by-step packet that explains and compiles all of these documents in understandable terms: the Known Wishes’ Washington End-of-Life Planning Packet.

Will versus trust

One common question: What is the difference between a will and a trust?

A will is a legal document that states your asset distribution, who administers your estate, and other wishes. A will is only effective upon death and needs to be legally validated through the process of probate.

A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement that places your assets into a trust. You have full access during your lifetime, and you can name successor trustees or beneficiaries. Unlike a will, if you are alive but incapacitated, a successor trustee can take over and use your assets for your benefit. Upon death, the successor trustee distributes the assets to the beneficiaries according to the agreement, bypassing the probate process.

There are many distinctions between documents, and many options out there. Luckily, there are organizations well versed in this knowledge who are there to answer your questions. Known Wishes offers a free consultation. Just email info@knownwishes.com to schedule. The People’s Memorial Association, which leaves no question unanswered, can be contacted at info@funerals.coop or 206-529-3800.

The hardest part of the process is figuring out what you want. Next, all you need to do is communicate it. Planning now will let you approach the idea of dying with contentment that you will die the way you want to, as well as provide your loved ones with some peace of mind.

Age Friendly Seattle thanks Emily Tyson-Shu, Kay Longhi, and Rachel LeBlanc for sharing their insights and the Lake City Seniors for partnering to host this Civic Coffee event. Watch the recording here and find out about the upcoming Civic Coffee here.

Contributor Sonali Agarwal is an intern with Age Friendly Seattle. She is studying Law, Societies, & Justice and Environmental Studies at the University of Washington. To read more about Civic Coffee and other programs, visit Age Friendly Seattle.