A weird and interesting thing that this generation has to think about that others have not is what you want done with your online presence when you die. Most of us, though not all, have some forms of social media from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram. In your death prep, have you considered what you…
Continuing on with our Death Prep Series (that’s what I’m calling it now), here is an introduction to powers of attorney. If you’re not a big fan of law shows, exactly what a power of attorney is may be a little murky to you. Power of attorney is a document granting one person to make…
What is long term care insurance? It’s one of the best gifts you can give your kids. Long term care insurance is used in the event of a prolonged illness that requires constant care. It covers nursing home stays for extended periods of time, and that’s the primary context we’ll discuss here, but it covers…
It’s been a while since we’ve been really morbid over here, but Kassandra’s Financial Fire Drill reminded me that it’s time to work on my will. One of the perks of being young, single and having no children is that those free do-it-yourself wills are completely adequate for me. At least, the state of New…
When someone close to you is dealing with one of the many unfortunate events life likes to throw at us – an illness in the family, care giving for someone terminally ill or death (or a few of the happy ones like bringing home a new baby), it’s not uncommon to wonder what you can…
The final aspect of green burial is green cemeteries. Most people opt to be buried in a traditional cemetery, six feet in the ground, in a coffin encapsulated in a vault. Others opt to be cremated. While it may seem like you’re choosing the environmentally friendly option in that case, in reality, the energy used…
Green funeral homes are funeral homes that are willing to work with you to make sure your desire for an eco-friendly burial is carried out. According to the law, funeral parlors need your consent for several of the things we’ve already mentioned, like embalming, but they can also refuse to have an open casket wake…
There are two main products used in every funeral – a receptacle for the body and chemicals to preserve the body. If you’re thinking of going green, these are the two things you’ll need to address with any funeral directors you work with. At the risk of being a little tactless, coffins are expensive. Just…
What exactly is a green funeral? It’s a funeral that uses products and methods that leave as small an environmental footprint as possible. Basic funerals seem like a huge waste to me – of both money and material. I don’t even consider myself all that crunchy and I still think it makes more sense for…
Hospice is a thing where everything you need to take care of someone magically appears for no cost. It’s like amazing fairy elves who show up with morphine and hospital beds at the snap of your fingers, er… or the dial of a phone. I always thought hospice was like a hospital where you went…
Death has been on my mind a lot lately. My grandma passed away two weeks ago after a seven year battle with cancer. For a lot of that time, it seemed like she might beat it and there was even a four year respite there when she was in remission. Weirdly enough, thoughts about money…