No one likes to talk about life after you are gone, but sometimes it is a vital conversation to have with your closest family members. The thing is, there is much to discuss in regards to financial assets, insurance policies, funeral wishes and of course honouring your memory. In fairness, having this conversation now or ahead of time should make things much easier to handle when the time comes for your family. So I thought I would share with you some of the ways you could help your family when you are not around.

Make sure you have an up to date will

A will is an important document that you put together that outlines your financials and also your assets. This document will highlight how you want things to be divided and is your opportunity to ensure that you have your wishes heard. However, so many people do a will and then never update it, so when it comes to the time of hearing it none of it makes any sense. Worse still people can often forget to do something like this, and it could cause problems when it comes to dividing your estate and assets. It’s never nice to think about money or your things and allocate them to people, but this is your only opportunity to do it, and it makes things easier for the family going forward.

Consider your funeral wishes and make a note of them

It’s never nice to plan a family member's funeral, especially if it is someone you are close to and love dearly. So when it's your time you might be wondering how you can take that burden away from your family. This is where you could outline a few things as a guide to help your family at what will obviously be a difficult time. It doesn’t have to be anything too official, just make a note of a few wishes you have and keep it in a safe place.

Keep your finances in order

It’s important to keep your finances in order as this will make things easier for your family when you are not around. It’s a good idea to keep passwords and reference or account numbers in one book. Letting the family know about this would help them know what to do when it is needed.

Discuss ways you could honour your memory

Your family may want to honour your memory in some way so it might be worth having the conversation about being buried or cremated. Again it’s never a nice conversation to have but makes the decision palatable when the time comes. If you decide to get cremated there are many things the family could do with your ashes, perhaps scatter them in a special place or even turn them into a diamond.

Create a bucket list the whole family can get involved in

Finally, if you are all about making the memories then why not consider creating a bucket list the whole family can get involved in? It could enable you to spend more time in your later years together, and also might give your family a sense of purpose for completing it in your honour, if you are unable to yourself.