By Johannes Pan
The first time one of my grandparents passed away, my family scrambled to adjust to this sudden difficulty. On top of the grief, my uncle and aunt had to rummage through piles of paper scattered throughout the house for the proper documents to submit. They had to recall the different passwords of the various bank accounts. They kept wondering what else had to be done, depriving themselves of peace of mind. When my second and third grandparents departed us, my parents went through the same things. No one learned to prepare for a graceful exit.
For my fourth and last grandparent, for my other relatives, for myself, and for you reading this article, I have compiled a checklist of things to do to make sure our loved ones can have a smoother adjustment after we are gone:
1. Legal Documents
For all important papers, I suggest putting them inside a strongbox to be accessed during emergencies. A point of caution here is to leave the key with only the most trusted of persons.
2. Bank Accounts
The strongbox should also include a paper detailing all the bank accounts and passwords of the family. But again, be absolutely sure that the ones who have access to this strongbox will not use this information to splurge all the money.
3. Insurance
As with the first two, the insurance papers should be safely hidden but easily accessible. When all the hospital and death bills come, the insurance will be the one to pay them all.
4. Funeral
Make sure the family knows what to do and who to call during the whole funeral process, which includes but is not limited to embalming, burial, and/or cremation. The only things the members of the family should worry about here are giving their eulogy and talking to relatives and friends.
5. Dependents
If there is anyone who still needs to be taken care of, or any pet for that matter, have some agreement with someone inside and another outside the family to take on that responsibility when the inevitable comes.
The Gift of a Graceful Exit
If we are going to leave our loved ones one last thing before we move on, it might as well be a good thing, right? In the end, the best last gift we could give them is a graceful exit.