my general wishes upon my death
2023-May-25, Thursday 05:54 pmIn signing up with new employment and new benefits packages, I needed to set my mother as the beneficiary to my life insurance policy. I spoke with her, so I could get some needed information. She raised a good point that I should make my intentions known for how I'd like to be treated in dire circumstances. Everybody should do that, really, but especially as we get older.
I have not created any legal forms/documents. (No mental bandwidth for that at the moment.) But I can put my general inclinations here.
Read the table with details by topic...
| BEFORE DEATH | |
| Do Not Intubate? | Yes, let's do intubation. (at least until I learn legal details of what this means. maybe it's significantly cheaper to just skip it. that's fine too.) |
| Do Not Resuscitate? | unknown (maybe not? doing it or not is fine. whatever the doctor says is reasonable action.) |
| pets | ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small} foeclan has access to my house, thanks to a restricted post here using the same topic tags on this Dreamwidth post. Please check that my cat has food/water/litter. You may relocate her to another friendly location if needed. |
| AFTER DEATH | |
| brain donation | VERY IMPORTANT: I've kept a signed card in my wallet for nearly 20 years, but if it's not available in the urgent moment, please call 1-877-333-0999 (or the numbers at the next hyperlink) immediately. Someone must call within 24 hours of my death, so tissue damage is minimized. I wish to donate my brain to the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center for any cause, but particularly for their Autism Tissue Program. |
| casket | Anything affordable. (I haven't selected or prepaid yet.) One of these biodegradable versions (even the "suits" instead of coffins) would be very nice. |
| burial plot | Any organic site is good. (I haven't selected or prepaid yet.) I do NOT want my body filled with toxic chemicals, so a quick burial is necessary. I expect to die in Minnesota, so no need to transfer me elsewhere. This story (free archive version) names options around the Twin Cities area. |
| service | None needed on my account. Please send donations to a charity for autism or homelessness in your area, if you care to. |
| pets | Hopefully whoever has been fostering Hope until this point is willing to keep her, or find another good home for her. If no other option remains, you may submit her back to the Animal Humane Society (AHS) where I adopted her long ago. Advise that she is in good health, friendly temperament, shy of strangers but a loving lap cat to her owner, hater of dogs, and not fond of other cats. She'd be excellent as a single pet to another older person. |
| estate | I fully own my small old home, so there might actually be some small money to leave behind. I don't have an executor, so I don't know who would be responsible for putting me in the ground, clearing out my place, and selling the house. Whatever's left after paying all the bills first, I'll call that my "estate" here. Let's divvy it up as follows: 5% to whoever takes my cat Hope (even if that's AHS; if Hope died before me, then send this amount to AHS) 5% to whoever had to get my estate cleared to this point (thanks. i know it's a troublesome responsibility.) 90% to my mother, assuming she outlives me, otherwise that 90% portion should instead be broken out as follows: 20% to my brother (or distributed to any other kin, near or distant, that he thinks would need it more), assuming he outlives me, otherwise... 20% to my father (or distributed likewise), assuming he outlives me, otherwise... 20% to charities for homelessness, autism, healthcare, research, or education, as the executor chooses, and 70% divided equally amongst 1) Autism Society Of Minnesota, 2) Youth Farm, 3) Good In The Hood, 4) Quatrefoil Library, 5) Unicorn Riot, 6) The Nature Conservancy Of Minnesota, and 7) The Trevor Project. |
Have I forgotten a topic? This is my first time working on these issues. I'll update this public post over time, with links to specific forms as I update my mind or pay for specific services ahead of time. Assuming, of course, that the forms don't contain any details of my identity that would better remain private.
