It seems a touch morbid to be doing this, but I am. I got all the guidance & forms from the Office of the Public Guardian & very helpful they are too. The process is thought provoking & probably not something a lot of people want to do. Discussing the issues with your nearest & dearest can also be difficult - I've found black humour helps!
The process is safe because I stipulate that my LPA can't be used until I lack mental capacity - In other words I'm more bonkers than I am now. So once it's all done in ink & signed & witnessed I shall register it and forget about it. Hopefully it may never be used, I would like to pop off quickly & painlessly - wouldn't we all? But I believe in covering all the bases & I haven't been a particularly lucky person so far. Ideally I fancy Euthanasia if things get really tough.
I would rather do this now, and not be worried about what will happen to me if I become physically or mentally incapable, which in an ageing population seems quite likely. I'm probably still a bit of a control freak & I want to make the decisions about what medical treatments I do or don't want - (DNR tick). Quality of life matters, & just because medics can prolong life in circumstances they weren't able to before doesn't make it right. I want to be cared for in my own home if I am reasonably compos mentis & capable. But if I'm not, I would like to be in a nursing home near to my daughter so she can easily visit if she wants to. Basically just being kept alive isn't enough, there has to be "a life" too.
Once I'm gone I'm gone. I don't believe there is anything afterwards. So if any of my bits can be used as spare parts then I'm fine about that. I'm a registered donor so my loved ones don't have to make that choice. Medical science is welcome to my body - good luck to them.
What's left can be disposed of in any way, so long as it's not done with a religious service. I'm more a Bhuddist / Humanist than anything else. Maryon declined the idea of a cardboard coffin she had decorated & I can understand why. Something simple & eco like willow will be fine if there is anything left to dispose of. I'd like to feel that I've done enough in my life to celebrate it. Mourning is more a private thing, & I definitely don't want sad faces, tears & black clothes like crows pecking at roadkill.
My property & money is covered by my will. I don't have any problem with paying the taxes due, so won't make any effort to avoid them. Wealth should be spread around & help the less fortunate, there are more than enough of them. So I don't believe in inherited wealth. Why should the children of wealthy people be given money they haven't earned? A lot of money changes lives, and not necessarily for the better. Everything I have, apart from a relatively small amount from our parents, was earned by David & me. We came from working class parents, so we appreciated the value of money. Maryon gets the IHT free sum which isn't a measure of how much I've loved her. I couldn't be more proud of her, she's the best thing I've done with my life. Apart from a couple of bequests everything else goes to charities. The Government has just caught up with me because they have introduced a scheme whereby if you give 10% of your money to charity your IHT is reduced. I'm more generous than them
It isn't things or wealth that matters in this life. It's what you do with the life you have. I'm infinitesimal in the grand scheme of things, really unimportant. I just hope I have changed something for the better and I hope someone will miss me & think kindly of me occasionally.
The process is safe because I stipulate that my LPA can't be used until I lack mental capacity - In other words I'm more bonkers than I am now. So once it's all done in ink & signed & witnessed I shall register it and forget about it. Hopefully it may never be used, I would like to pop off quickly & painlessly - wouldn't we all? But I believe in covering all the bases & I haven't been a particularly lucky person so far. Ideally I fancy Euthanasia if things get really tough.
I would rather do this now, and not be worried about what will happen to me if I become physically or mentally incapable, which in an ageing population seems quite likely. I'm probably still a bit of a control freak & I want to make the decisions about what medical treatments I do or don't want - (DNR tick). Quality of life matters, & just because medics can prolong life in circumstances they weren't able to before doesn't make it right. I want to be cared for in my own home if I am reasonably compos mentis & capable. But if I'm not, I would like to be in a nursing home near to my daughter so she can easily visit if she wants to. Basically just being kept alive isn't enough, there has to be "a life" too.
Once I'm gone I'm gone. I don't believe there is anything afterwards. So if any of my bits can be used as spare parts then I'm fine about that. I'm a registered donor so my loved ones don't have to make that choice. Medical science is welcome to my body - good luck to them.
What's left can be disposed of in any way, so long as it's not done with a religious service. I'm more a Bhuddist / Humanist than anything else. Maryon declined the idea of a cardboard coffin she had decorated & I can understand why. Something simple & eco like willow will be fine if there is anything left to dispose of. I'd like to feel that I've done enough in my life to celebrate it. Mourning is more a private thing, & I definitely don't want sad faces, tears & black clothes like crows pecking at roadkill.
My property & money is covered by my will. I don't have any problem with paying the taxes due, so won't make any effort to avoid them. Wealth should be spread around & help the less fortunate, there are more than enough of them. So I don't believe in inherited wealth. Why should the children of wealthy people be given money they haven't earned? A lot of money changes lives, and not necessarily for the better. Everything I have, apart from a relatively small amount from our parents, was earned by David & me. We came from working class parents, so we appreciated the value of money. Maryon gets the IHT free sum which isn't a measure of how much I've loved her. I couldn't be more proud of her, she's the best thing I've done with my life. Apart from a couple of bequests everything else goes to charities. The Government has just caught up with me because they have introduced a scheme whereby if you give 10% of your money to charity your IHT is reduced. I'm more generous than them
It isn't things or wealth that matters in this life. It's what you do with the life you have. I'm infinitesimal in the grand scheme of things, really unimportant. I just hope I have changed something for the better and I hope someone will miss me & think kindly of me occasionally.
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