Set a reminder to review end-of-life decisions at a later date

Our lives are constantly changing, which often means everything from property and valuables, to how we feel those property and valuables should be distributed, is subject to change.

In light of that, we recommend that as you wrap up end-of-life planning for yourself or someone else, a reminder is set to review the decisions that have been made to ensure that these decisions remain consistent with the priorities you or the person you’re planning for hold down the road.

In general, we recommend that checklist documents are updated once a year. Another approach is to revisit end-of-life decisions after a major life event (anything from marriage, children, and grandchildren, to major health diagnoses or economic shifts) and see if the post-death wishes that you or the person you’re planning for made regarding things like organ donation, memorial services, or something similar change with experience and time.

To do this, set a time one year from today by either:

• Putting an alert in your phone/telling Siri to remind you, or,

• Scheduling it in an online calendar like Google Calendar, or,

• Penciling it into an analog scheduler or daily planner

Whatever you or the person you’re planning for use to keep affairs in order is sufficient. Just know that keeping a pre-planning checklist updated will ensure that changes in preference are reflected in everything from the will to the advance directive to the lasting legacy.