End-of-LIFE Planning Services

End-of-life planning is one of the greatest gifts you can offer those who come after you. We offer a standard 8-session package for end-of-life planning clients, which can be modified based on your specific needs. Pricing for each session is $150 per session.

Introduction

This is a getting to know you session. We talk about who you are, what is important to you, and what your goals are. We go through what you would like the end of your life to look like if you had your ideal scenario, and then what elements are absolutely essential to you if you do not get to have your ideal scenario. In many cases, we don’t get to have this “ideal state” scenario but knowing what the ideal state is allows us to get as close to it as possible in our Plans B, C, and D.

Advance Directive

Your advance directive or “living will” is one of your most important end-of-life documents, that outlines what kind of medical care you would like to receive at the end of your life. We will walk through and fill out your Five Wishes advance directive together. The Five Wishes is recognized by 42 states, and if you are in a another state we can find your state-specific form. We can also discuss other end-of-life documents in this session, such as the Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form, or the Yellow Dot Program for those who drive a vehicle in Pennsylvania.

Vigil Plan

The vigil, also known as the “actively dying period” is when a person who is dying from medical causes begins to show signs of imminent death. Many people choose to sit vigil with their loved ones so they can be present at the time of death.

There are many questions you would want to consider when planning out the vigil, such as: Who do you want to be present when you die? What do you want the room to smell like? Do you want the people around you to be quiet and reverent or loud and boisterous? These preferences may all be subject to change depending on the medical situation, but it is good to have a default plan in place.

Legacy Work

How do you want to be remembered? A legacy project can be a fun and meaningful way to commemorate this for future generations to enjoy. It can be as elaborate as a fully choreographed song and dance routine, or as simple as collecting photos and journals from throughout your life. Some examples of past legacy projects I have helped create are: an audiobook of a client reading Harry Potter so his grandchildren could hear him read them a story, a video of a client talking about the most memorable moments in their life, and a play re-enacting a client’s life story with local community theater actors. See the YouTube video below for an example of an awesome legacy project as inspiration!

Funeral or Memorial

Many people already know whether they want to be buried or cremated, but not as many people typically plan out the details of their funeral/memorial, which can be helpful for anyone who would be in charge of planning these services.

We can help inform you as to which disposition methods are the most sustainable, how to donate your body to science, or how to shop around for an appropriate funeral home based on your priorities and budget. If you are interested in planning a home funeral (not at a funeral home), we can also help with this, though it may require a few extra sessions.

Mortality

If you feel personally comfortable, we can use one session to explore your thoughts and possible fears around mortality. This session can cover some potentially uncomfortable topics, such as regrets, unfinished business, guilt, and shame. No matter what age we are or what point of life we are at, these can always be heavy topics to discuss. If you decide during the course of this conversation that you would like to initiate a hard conversation with someone you know, we can game plan how to approach this, and we can follow up later to see how the conversation went, if desired.

Digital Accounts

We set up a password manager for you and create an audit of all your digital accounts. No matter what level of tech proficiency you have, it can be an arduous task to gather up all of your passwords in one place. Some people have their passwords stored in a note on their phone, some people have various post-its scattered throughout their house; some may even commit all their passwords to memory! No matter the method, we'll help you gather your passwords in one place and come up with a plan for closing or keeping social media and email accounts upon death.

Closeout

To close out, we talk about next steps moving forward: how often do you plan to revisit this plan? If there is no set regularity (such as yearly, biannually, etc.), are there certain events that will trigger a revisitation of these plans, such as moving to a new house or a different state? Where are all of these plans going to be kept?

We can revisit the need for any additional sessions at this time as needed, or we can refer you to any other professionals you may need to complete your end-of-life plans, such as financial planners or estate lawyers.

CONTACT

Let’s Work Together

I would love to work with you! If you want to see how we can work together and/or get a quote for services (all prices are based on scope of work), you can use the form here to contact me or send an email to isabel@thedeathdesigner.com.