End of Life Planning
Planning for end of life for yourself or a loved one is about establishing in advance any needs or wishes for the dying process and after. It begins by asking, “how do I want to live and be cared for in my final months, weeks, days, and hours before I die? And what do I want to happen after I've died?”
Advance Planning
Advance Planning can include medical, practical, spiritual, cultural, emotional, legal, and financial matters. Ultimately, this is your opportunity to define what you want to happen when you die, what you don’t want, who will speak for you, and what you want to happen after you die. It involves:
Identifying your wishes and preferences
Refusing treatments in some circumstances
Stating whether or not you want cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Asking someone to speak for you by assigning a Proxy Spokesperson
Appointing a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) to legally make decisions for you
Recording and documenting / registering these decisions
Informing people about your wishes
An Advance Statement is your opportunity to record these wishes and preferences on a signed and dated document. While it is not legally binding, it can be considered during care planning if you have lost capacity to communicate. You can also nominate a proxy spokesperson to execute it. When writing your statement, consider your beliefs and values, who you would like to be consulted, any spiritual care, the care environment, any physical care including your senses and care of your body after death, any emotional care including how to manage your fears, any reassurances for the nominated decision maker, and any goals before you die.
An Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment (ADRT) gives your health and social care team clinical and legal instructions about your decision to refuse specific treatment in the future when you approach your end of life. It will only be used if you lose your ability to make your own decisions. Unlike an Advance Statement, your ADRT is a legally binding document. You must have mental capacity when you write it, and it must be signed and dated by you and a witness.
Your ADRT must state that your advance decision applies even if your life is at risk, for example: “the following refusal of treatment will apply even if my life is at risk or may be shortened as a result.” You may want to refuse a treatment in some situations, but not others, so you need to be clear about all the circumstances in which you want to refuse treatment. There are also some areas you cannot use an ADRT for, such as asking for assisted death which is against the law in the UK. As this is a legally binding and crucially important document for your future, it is best to seek consultation with a clinician. Find out more about ADRTs at the NHS website.
A DNACPR decision is made in conjunction with a medical practitioner and asserts your decision to not be resuscitated in the event of a cardiac arrest. While not legally binding, it helps you to communicate to the healthcare professionals involved in your care that CPR shouldn’t be attempted, and while you may be consulted, your doctor has the final decision in some cases. There are some circumstances where this type of resuscitation can be so physically traumatic for the body, such as for a very elderly or frail person, that they would prefer to opt for DNACPR and accept their end of life at this point.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) gives another person the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf, should you lose mental capacity. This includes rights to make decisions about your property, financial affairs, healthcare, welfare, and medical treatment. You should appoint somebody who knows you well, who you can trust to act in your best interests, and who is reliable and has the skills for this responsibility. They should consider your past and present wishes, and they cannot take advantage of you to benefit themselves from this power. This includes keeping all of your money separate from their money. If you do not know somebody who you can trust in this capacity, you can appoint a solicitor instead.
Your LPA will need to be registered with the Office of Public Guardian before it can be used. This costs £82 for each LPA registration. You can complete a form online at the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). Visit https://www.lastingpowerofattorney.service.gov.uk/home or stationery shops that provide legal packs. Alternatively, you can consult a Lawyer or a Legal Advisor on End-of-Life Planning or Estate planning. If you don’t have an LPA, and later lack capacity to make decisions for yourself, someone may need to apply to the Court of Protection to become your deputy, so it is best to organise this early on in life when you are still physically and mentally able.
Nominate someone in advance of your death to provide information about your preferences when the time comes, so that all the plans you have made in advance are known and accessible to those who need to know.
Give copies to relevant people: those closest to you, your doctor, anyone who will be contacted in an emergency, and any professionals involved in your care, and keep a copy easily accessible in your home. You can also carry a Notice of Advance Decision card on you, and consider wearing Medic Alert Jewellery.
Advance Planning is something many people may never have thought about before, but doing it early on in life empowers you to establish what's important in case you are unable to make certain decisions for yourself as you approach your end of life.
Financial Planning
Your estate is everything you own that has a monetary value. This may comprise of:
Money, both cash and in a bank or building society account
Money owed to you in any form, such as through insurance policies or pension schemes
Financial shares in your name
Property and land in your name, such as your home or a holiday home
Personal possessions such as your car, jewellery, artwork, and heirlooms
It is essential that you plan for what happens to your estate after you die. Planning in advance ensures your financial and physical assets are distributed according to you wishes, and protects any loved ones and dependents from the stresses of losing your estate to others like the government, or to hefty taxes. Financial planning also protects your loved ones from having to work through the complex task of handling your estate without the right legal access because you didn't make these provisions. Lastly, it gives you the opportunity to support any loved ones and dependents financially after you die, adding to their security, and helping to protect them against debts or money worries that could result from your death.
Financial planning helps you achieve peace of mind for yourself and those that matter now, towards the end of your life, and after you've died. As well as managing your estate, this might extend to plans for your retirement, what happens if you experience a major accident or develop a longterm illness that requires expensive recovery care, any expenses for your end of life care and funeral arrangements, and finally your Wills and Probate. It's never too soon to start this process, especially when you have loved ones or dependents. Planning in advance includes:
Taking a full inventory of everything you own and any outstanding debts or loan repayments
Making a Will including any trusts and notifying appointed people where it is kept
Making a Letter of Wishes that includes further details about funeral arrangements and your legacy wishes
Factoring in your digital legacy to these provisions (read more on digital legacies further on this page)
Professional Advice
Navigating your estate can be a challenge. Professionals such as a Financial Planner or Independent Advisor can help you get organised, identify your existing estate, and financially plan for the future including your end of life and beyond. Whether you go it alone or employ professional help, financial planning is essential to ensure your estate is settled after you die, as failing to plan ahead for such matters can leave loved ones in terrible debt, financial worries, or even see big sums of money go to the government. The companies MyLifeLocker and Farewill both provide some great advice and guidance on these matters.
Read on to learn more about Wills and Probate.
What is a Will?
A Last Will and Testament sets out how you wish to distribute your estate (everything you own including any money) after your death. This is a legally binding document that details and instructs key people, such as executors, heirs, beneficiaries, and guardians for minor children. Sometimes people leave a Legacy or Ethical Will, which is a personal, written or dictated record of your family's story that is passed down to each generation, outlining any philosophies, achievements, wisdoms, and future hopes and dreams.
A Will is also a public document, which means anyone can access a copy from the government Probate Registry. So, if you want to include any sensitive information that may surprise or upset someone, such as your reasoning for distributing your estate a certain way, you might want to put these details in a Letter of Wishes instead, which is not a legal nor public document and is normally only viewed by your closest family.
Why should you make a Will?
If you don't leave a Will when you die, which is known as dying intestate, your estate will be distributed in accordance with the law, which usually means your legal relatives will inherit everything. This can be incredibly stressful for your loved ones. Sorting out someone's estate without a Will can take years, during which nothing can be assessed and hefty inheritance taxes can ensue. It can also leave an unmarried partner at risk of receiving nothing or very little, even if they were cohabiting with you. Assets that were owned jointly will usually pass to a partner, but payouts from pensions and life insurance policies may not unless you named them on your policy. Ultimately, if you have loved ones, it is prudent to leave a Will to ensure they are taken care of in the event of your death, and it's never too soon to get this done.
Read on to learn how to make your Will.
Writing a valid Will
Anyone can write a Will, but we advise you to appoint someone professionally qualified to help you or do it for you. There are many important factors that you must get right to ensure your Will is valid, so it's sensible to employ an expert rather than risk making mistakes that could cost you or your family considerably. For your Will to be valid, it must be created voluntarily and without pressure from anyone else, you must have the mental capacity to create it yourself and understand its effects, and you must state at the start of your Will that it revokes any previous versions. Your Will should also be checked thoroughly for any typos and misspellings.
What should you include?
Your personal details: full name, date of birth, telephone numbers, address, marital status
If you have one, your spouse or partner's personal details as above
Details of your children: full name, date of birth, address, their relationship to you (e.g. stepchildren) and names of any guardians for those under 18yrs old
Whether there is an existing Will
The value of your assets: property, savings, insurance, pensions, shares, investments, and belongings (cars, artwork, heirlooms, jewellery etc)
Any debts, including mortgages, loans, overdrafts, equity release, credit cards etc
Details of how you wish to divide and distribute your estate after you die, for instance who should receive what amounts, and when (such as trusts for young people)
Bequests: a list of items such as heirlooms, jewellery, artwork, etc, and the names of the individuals or organisations that you wish to leave them to
Pecuniary bequests: a list of sums of money and the names and addresses of individuals or organisations that you wish to leave them to
Residuary bequests: a list of the remainder of your estate and the names and addresses of individuals or organisations that you wish to leave them to
Signing your Will
Once you've finished writing the contents of your Will, you must sign it correctly in order for it to be valid. Normally, a Will must be signed by you and two independent witnesses. Your witnesses cannot be the Executors of your Will, nor the beneficiaries, their spouses, or civil partners. In the event that you are physically unable to sign your Will, it can be signed on your behalf at your request. In this case, you must have the mental capacity to make such a request, be present when the Will is signed, and add a clause stating that you understand the contents. Finally, your Executor is the person that you appoint with the responsibility of distributing your estate after you die. They can be family members, friends, acquaintances, or paid professionals, such as a solicitor.
How should you store your Will?
Store your Will safely and securely such as in a filing cabinet or a safe at home. Always tell your executors and/or a trusted friend or family member exactly where it is and how to access it. You can also employ a solicitor, bank or probate service to store your Will for you. Make sure your Will is unmarked with any staples or paperclip marks as these can be confused as amendments or missing parts. It's best to keep it in a clear plastic wallet instead.
Reviewing your Will
You should aim to review your Will every five years or so, if not more regularly, and certainly after you've experienced any major changes such as divorce, change of address, change of beneficiaries for any reason, or major changes if your financial estate. For substantial changes, you must make a new Will and destroy the old one. For small changes, you can add a codicil, (which must be signed and witnessed again). Never alter the original document though. You either destroy and replace it, or add a signed and witnessed codicil.
Trusts
A trust is a financial and legal arrangement that comes into effect when you die, that grants control of assets, usually money or high value items such as heirlooms, cars, or property, to a named person (the Trustee) on behalf of others (the Beneficiaries). You might specify what the trust provides each beneficiary or you can let the trustees have discretion over how and when they distribute the assets or funds. A trust is often organised when high value assets or funds are to be inherited by children or young people who are deemed too young to handle such responsibility at the present. A trust can set conditions that allow for full control of the inheritance to be handed over from the trustee to the beneficiary once they turn a certain age, and it can even stipulate how the inheritance should be used, such as for educational or property purposes.
Inheritance Tax (IHT)
Trusts can help to limit inheritance tax by keeping parts of a financial estate outside the taxable amount. The laws on inheritance tax can be complex though, so always seek professional advice to avoid pitfalls that could cost your beneficiaries greatly. Visit the Government website for more information on trusts and inheritance tax.
A Letter of Wishes is not a legally binding document, but often accompanies a Will and provides additional information on what you would like to happen after you've died. This might include your wishes for funeral and memorial arrangements, special wishes about the distribution of your possessions, and your digital legacies. It's good to consider all the things you want to happen after you die, from post-mortem and organ donation, to the execution of your Will, what should happen to your social media accounts, and more. There are many useful websites providing information about these areas, including:
Read on to explore what else you may want to include in your Letter of Wishes.
A Last Will & Testament is a legally binding document that states how you wish to distribute your estate, meaning all your possessions and financial assets, after you die. It will also detail your executors, heirs, and any provisions minors.
Digital Planning
These days, it's common to have several online and virtual spaces that hold information about you on the internet. This could include email accounts, social media pages, financial services, cryptocurrency, cloud storage for files and photos, online shopping and subscription accounts, membership profiles, chat history, coursework, CVs and job applications, and more. This is your digital legacy and it's important to take inventory and plan what should happen to it after you die. Without this planning, these digital spaces can remain online indefinitely, be lost or misused, and can even become problematic for your loved ones after you die.
No matter your age or circumstances, it's never too soon to start this process, and in today's digital age we recommend everyone has a plan in place to protect their digital legacy. Taking action helps to:
Protect against unauthorised access to your personal data
Grant access to appointees to manage, update, close, or delete your accounts
Provide guidance on their management and transfer ownership
Create and future-proof a digital memorial for friends and family to remember you by
Protect against misuse including hacking and identity theft
Protect against your digital memorials being lost or deleted
Visit the Digital Legacy Association or read on to learn more.
Take an inventory
List all your online accounts and their associated credentials. Document your login and security details for each online account, including any security questions and answers, recovery options, and anything else important such as what should happen to each account after you die.
Choose a secure and accessible format
You could write all this information down on paper and file it safely, or you could store it digitally in an encrypted file. If digital, make the file password-protected and store it on an offline device or use a secure online password manager. Remember, if you're going to store this information digitally, you must save the access details to this file somewhere else and equally securely. If storing physically, make sure you have a contingency for if this information was to be lost or stolen.
Appoint a Digital Executor
This should be someone you trust with the responsibility of handling all your digital assets after you die and executing your digital wishes. You should tell them how to access your digital accounts and inventory, who else should have access to specific data, and whether they should delete or restrict certain information after you die. Choose someone trustworthy and competent for this role. They should be reliable and technically-minded, so that they are capable of managing your digital assets responsibly. They should also have knowledge of data protection and data handling laws.
Have a contingency plan
Communicate your digital plan with your loved ones and include your wishes for your digital legacy in your Letter of Wishes. Keep this information up to date over time. In case anything should happen to your Digital Executor, or in the event that they become unable to continue managing your digital legacy, you should always designate a secondary executor and agree a process for the role being passed on safely and reliably for longer term digital assets.
These days, there are many special and innovative ways to be remembered digitally, or to ‘live on’ in the digital world. Creating a digital memorial is a heartfelt way to capture the essence of your life online for loved ones to visit and remember you by. A digital memorial is an opportunity to leave messages for loved ones, express your feelings, share stories, and preserve precious memories for future generations. Most significantly, this is a special way to help your loved ones feel connected to you after you have died.
Digital memorials can come in the form of a video, audio recording, a digital photo album, a digital book, scrapbook, website, digital art portfolio, or something else. There are many different aspects to consider when creating a digital memorial, including how to store and sharing it...
Video & Audio
You could record a video or audio messages for your loved ones using a smartphones, a digital video recorder, or voice memo. Most smartphones provide everything you need for this, including editing tools. Social media accounts such as Instagram and TikTok also make this easy using their Reel creator tool, which you can save to your device instead of publishing once you've made it. Video and audio files are generally saved as MP4s and MP3s. If you have old VHS video tapes that you would like converting to digital to better memorialise those memories, use conversion services such as Each Moment and Digital Converters.
Photos & Images
There are many tools and online places to create digital photograph libraries and scrapbooks of photos or artwork. You could Memorial a social media account such as Facebook or Instagram (see details in next section about different digital platforms). You could use a website memorial page, such as the Memory Wall we provide at the Mortality Alliance, a charity memorial page if a charity you are affiliated provide this service on their website, or companies such as Unforgettable Memories and Remembrance Book. Digital photos are usually stored as PNG or JPEG files, and huge libraries can be compressed into a smaller space using Zip files. If you have physical photographs that you'd like to convert to digital, you can either scan these using a scanner, or carefully take pictures of the photograph using a smart phone. There are many online companies who can do this for you, such as Best Photo Scan and Mr Scan. Just Google search "convert printed photos to digital" and see which companies are most accessible to you.
Digital Letters
If you wish to write a letter for your loved ones to keep after you die, or write a book about your life story, using a text editor such as Microsoft Word to create you draft, and then save your final document as a PDF which is less editable. If you want to capture handwritten letters or messages, scan these like photos and save them as PDFs or image files. You could also write emails containing your special messages and save them in as drafts in your mailbox, schedule them to be sent automatically after you have died, or ask your Digital Executor to send them on your behalf. Alternatively, the company Afternote allows you to create a digital message for someone that will be delivered after you die.
Other Options
Social media accounts such as Facebook and LinkedIn can serve as a much greater digital memorial than just a photograph library, as they can preserve your entire timeline of events, activities, and messages. Read more in the next section about these different platforms. There are companies who provide digital graves and online memorials using QR codes, where loved ones can post photos and memories and pay their respects in a similar way to how they post on social media. Lastly, an emerging way to digitally memorialise yourself is to use a Chatbot service, often called Griefbots. This takes data from your past texts, social media posts, and other online sources, and uses it to create a virtual version of you that can interact with your loved ones after you have died. This isn't for everyone, but it can bring great comfort to your loved ones especially when they are grieving deeply. Read more about Griefbots here soon.
The Digital Legacy Association provide a great source of support and guidance for digital memorials. The key thing to remember is to plan and create your digital memorial in advance, when you are well enough to allocate the time and attention to capturing and safely securing all your digital memories and messages, preserving them for your loved ones for years to come.
Different digital platforms have different terms for the handling of accounts after someone has died, or the transfer of ownership and management, so it is important to understand these individually. Here are just a few of the top providers that you may hold accounts with, and how they handle digital legacies:
Microsoft: You don't have to close a Microsoft account when someone dies, as a Microsoft account will in any event expire after 2 years of inactivity. It's important to know this if there are files you wish to keep that are stored with your Microsoft account, so this being the case, your Digital Executor may wish to move those files to a longer online storage option after you die. For more information, contact Microsoft support.
Apple: Rights to Apple and Apple iCloud accounts terminate on death and are non-transferable unless instructed by law. To gain access to a deceased person's account, the next of kin must obtain a court order that names them as the rightful inheritor of the account. So, if you want to maintain access for someone to your files in an Apple account after you die, move those files to a longer online storage option or back them up (copy them) in such a place. For more information, or to delete a deceased person's Apple ID, contact Apple Support.
Emails: Different email providers have different criteria for accessing a deceased person's account. Gmail requires a copy of the deceased’s ID and death certificate. Yahoo and Hotmail have a similar process that requires your executor to send the request in writing with a document proving their authority and a copy of your death certificate. Contact your email account providers and check their different provisions before you die and include these instructions in your digital plan.
Social media: Accounts on social media platforms are often treated differently to other online accounts when someone dies. Often people wish to keep their social media accounts after they die to serve as a digital memorial, allowing loved ones to see their past timeline, announcing their death, remember certain anniversaries and milestones, and allowing others to continue commenting on their past posts. You may also want an appointee to continue updating and maintaining your social media accounts after you die, adding more content about you in your absence. Read on to learn about the different provisions and limitations for a deceased person's social media accounts.
Facebook & Instagram: These are owned by the same company and allow you to appoint a Legacy Contact who can either delete your account, preserve it, or set up a memorial page after you die. This does not give the appointee access to the account's inbox. Read more about these services at Facebook and Instagram here.
X (Twitter) & TikTok: Unfortunately X does not allow continued access regardless of the relationship to the deceased. To delete the account of a deceased person's X account, a next of kin must present a copy of the their ID and death certificate. TikTok also does not offer a memorial option for a deceased user's account. To delete the account of someone who has died, contact TikTok directly. They will also request evidence such as a death certificate.
LinkedIn: To close or memorialise a LinkedIn account, a next of kin or appointee must produce a copy of the deceased’s death certificate and a legal document showing that have been appointed authority to act on the deceased’s estate. Closed accounts are permanently removed from LinkedIn, while memorialised accounts are marked as such. No further login access will be granted. LinkedIn provide a form to notify them that an account holder as died, which you can access here.
Pinterest: To deactivate a deceased person's Pinterest account, you will need to contact the Pinterest Help Centre. Additional evidence may be requested and Pinterest will not disclose log in details to access a deceased person's account.
YouTube: To access a deceased person's YouTube account, a next of kin or appointee must submit a request through Google. They will be required to submit the name and email address of the deceased; their own details and relationship to the deceased, along with various evidence such as proof of ID and death certificate. Google will not grant access to the YouTube account or provide login information, though they may fulfil information requests. Read more here.
Your digital legacy is all the information about you that exists online or in a digital format after you die. From memorialising to protecting your data, creating a digital legacy plan ensures your data is preserved, managed, or deleted as per your wishes.