PROCEDURAL ASPECTS OF DEATH AND DYING

Legal Capacity

Living Will

Anatomical Gifts

Funerals

Burial

Cremation

Custody of Children

Will

Important Papers

Business Agreements

Sharing Knowledge of Financial Planning

Funeral Arrangements

Personal Representative

Death Certificates

Life Insurance

Health Insurance

Other Insurance

Social Security

Veterans� Administration

Civil Service

Private Business

Estate Settlement

Customers and Clients

EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF DEATH AND DYING

Grieving

Communication with Survivors

INVENTORY OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION 289

SAMPLE UNIFORM DONOR CARD 304

Everyone eventually faces death. Yet, surprisingly, few people know how to prepare for death or realize what must be done on their behalf after death. This is true of personal and business matters as well as interpersonal relationships involved.

When a person dies, a series of activities devoted to handling the final disposition of the body and settlement of the estate is initiated. This process is similar for all individuals. These matters are often handled by the surviving family members or friends, but since they frequently have not gone through the process before, it is often perceived as difficult, complex, and confusing. They would like to carry out the deceased�s wishes, but often these wishes were not discussed or otherwise made known so they must guess at what the decedent wanted. There are many things that people can do while they are living to assist their survivors in making these important decisions.

Family discussions of what would happen if either or both parents were to die can be helpful. This raises the issues of funeral arrangements, estate distribution, future family income, educational desires for children, remarriage of the surviving spouse, donation of the deceased�s body, custody and guardianship of any minor children, and so forth. These discussions should communicate each person�s desires to the other family members. It is advisable to create written documents that will also communicate these final wishes and will be available after death. These documents should be distributed to all interested parties and potential care givers shortly after the documents are created so that decision makers will be aware of their existence.