5 ”Good Enough” End-of-Life Prep Tasks

I read somewhere that anything worth doing is worth doing poorly. Doing ANY End-of-Life (EOL) prep is better than nothing at all.

I get it, diving into a ton of legal and administrative work is NO FUN. And facing your mortality can be a bit much. A few quick steps now will lighten the load later for everyone, including yourself. If you’re not sold on WHY this prep is important, read to the end.

Here are five simple-ish things you can do to half-ass your prep without screwing over your loved ones.

1. Name beneficiaries for all of your financial accounts

2. Keep important documents, account paperwork, and things like spare keys in one place

3. Get a password manager and use it

4. Make a list of your key accounts, keep it updated and store it with your important paperwork

5. Complete your Advance Healthcare Directive (AHCD) *and* make it legal

That’s it. That’s the five things. If you’re willing to do this bare minimum of prep, you have my blessing.

If you’ve already done them, I have no beef with you. You've taken steps to avoid leaving your family or friends with a huge hassle. There's more to consider, but I'm picking my battles. You’ve done more than most and deserve to feel smug.

The more thought and care that has gone into your EOL prep now, the less difficult some of that work can be for everyone later, including you.

Some of these tasks are one-time, some involve being (or becoming) a more organized human. Aim for C+ work, but turn something in!

If you have gaps and need more details, here’s a more detailed breakdown:

1. Name beneficiaries for all of your financial accounts.
   Your financial institution might refer to this as a “beneficiary designation” or “POD” (payable on death). Essentially you’re naming who these accounts will automatically be transferred to when you die. Do this for any bank accounts, investment accounts, or retirement accounts. This is such an easy step. All you need in most cases is the person’s legal name, their birthday, and a SSN. You can often do this on the institution’s website without talking to anyone. If you want to list more than one or two people, consider talking to a lawyer about estate planning. Don’t get frozen agonizing over who to list; you can always change this later. Commit to doing this in the next 48 hours.

2. Keep your stuff in one place.
   I’m talking about important documents, account paperwork, and things like spare keys. This make your life easier as you do adulting tasks like keeping up with bills and paying taxes, AND it will help your people avoid participating in the world’s saddest scavenger hunt to find everything once you’ve died. Pop quiz: Where is your social security card? Your birth certificate? Your car title? Go find them and put them together.

3. Make a list of your key accounts, and include relevant account information.
   Take 15 minutes and, for each account, write down the following: Name of account, type of account, institution, purpose of account, bonus: login details or key contact info

   Keep a copy of this list with your important paperwork, and update it every year when you do your taxes. You can create a file in the cloud using Google sheets, but figure out how you might share that for someone important to access if things go sideways. If you’re worried about security, omit important details like logins or account numbers, but make sure they’re recorded somewhere else so your key people can find them. If you’re mostly paperless and everything in your life is digital, remember that someone who isn’t inside your head will have no way of knowing what exists in the cloud—don’t make the newly aggrieved play detective.

   The more comprehensive your list, the better, but at a minimum, list: financial accounts where you store, send, receive money, or pay bills (banks, credit cards, retirement & investment accounts); accounts related to dependents or responsibilities (kids, parents, pets, loans/debts); property (real estate, vehicles, utilities); subscriptions & memberships (monthly, annual). If it’s an account or person you reference when you do your taxes, pay bills, or go to the doctor, it should go on the list.

4. Get a password manager.
   Use an app, a piece of paper—something. At a minimum, make sure that a key person in your life will be able to access your email or cell phone for password resets, two-factor authentication, and important login details. When it comes time to deal with your accounts (everything from utilities to subscriptions to financial accounts), the easier you make it for your people to access important info, the better. If you’re worried that someone might take advantage, use a password manager that lets you list an emergency or legacy contact that only gets used if something has happened to you. Not all password managers have these features, especially the free ones, but even using iPhone’s password manager is better than nothing. Just make sure someone you trust knows how to unlock your phone if you’re in a coma.

5. Complete your Advance Healthcare Directive (AHCD) *and* make it legal.
   This is a legal document that says what medical care you do or don’t want if something happens to you and you can’t speak for yourself. This can be fairly simple, and it can also be terribly intimidating to actually do this step. You can always change your answers later!! I’m happy to walk you through a AHCD for your state and support you through filling it out if it means you’ll complete yours (I’ll help you for free). I also created a guide that addresses the most common AHCD pitfalls I’ve seen—email me if you want that. To complete your AHCD, start here:

   • There are a ton of free AHCD forms you can use. Use whichever you like. I like this one (prepareforyourcare.org) because it covers most states, quickly gets to the point, and it explains things clearly. I find it comprehensive yet simple.

   • Another decent one is Five Wishes (fivewishes.org). It costs $5 and while I prefer the one I listed above, this one holds your hand a little and makes some of the fuzzier questions a little less open-ended.

   • For any AHCD, the steps for “making it legal” vary by state; it’s usually the difference between having either two witnesses or a notary confirm that they saw you sign it. Check any ACHD for your state to find out which is true for you. One of the links above will have this info.

If you want accountability or have questions, reach out. I'm not selling anything, and I don’t give a hoot about being an influencer. I’m tired of seeing people blindsided because someone they care about didn’t do these simple things.

Let me know if you took action on any of these things because of this post. Knowing that I nudged just one person to get their act together would feel amazing.

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Still need convincing on why this stuff is worth doing? Fine. There are two main reasons for EOL planning. 1) It’s a gift for the people you leave behind. When someone dies, there are a bunch of administrative tasks to be handled. Someone more clever than me called this “SADmin.” Many of these tasks are confusing, time-consuming, or tedious. Others are frustrating or maddening. Many can be emotional. Dealing with someone’s affairs after they’ve died sucks, and it can take years and lots of money before it’s all settled. Grieving is hard enough; don’t dump this stuff on others with no forethought. 2) After getting past the willies that might come with contemplating mortality, knowing that your affairs are in order and that you’re not leaving a mess for others can bring a sense of peace. 3) BONUS! It keeps your money and assets out of the realm of “unclaimed property” and government, and who among us doesn’t want to stick it to the man?