Planning Advice for the Loss of Life

The gift of life is a blessing that everyone on Earth has today, despite the fact that many people live in poverty. God has given us a specific life to live and it is how we live it while we are here that matters and determines whether we shall have eternal life in the end.

So, when we think about life, we must also think about death. We obviously do not know our exact dates of death but there is a lot we can do to prepare our ourselves and our families for such a matter. For instance, I realize that there are millions of people out there, especially those that are husbands, wives, heads of households, who are ill-prepared as far as what to exactly do if they lost a significant family member. People only have a minor clue on how to handle the financial, administrative and physical rigors of death, especially when death all of a sudden happens and you are left trying to figure out what to do. The matter is very difficult because it requires having a thorough understanding of what to do in the case of a loss. In this case, the question is; How many of us truly do have a thorough understanding if death occurred to a significant family member? Well, I can tell you that most of us would be supremely lost on what to do. There is no shame in it because that is just they way it is and has been forever. 

So to change the forever way, I submit to everyone to sit down for at least 30 mins and think carefully about what you believe should be done in the event you or a significant family member is lost! Next, take out a notepad and pin or simply get on your computer and create a step-by-step plan from A-Z and work to cover every base needed to ensure your family is secure in the event of a key loss. Do not be in a rush but take your time in putting the plan together because you want to be as thorough as possible. I mean, put every absolute detail you can think of in the plan from every financial detail to every administrative detail to every physical detail. If necessary, go online and Google what can I do to implement a plan in the event you were to lose a significant person to get ideas. I just believe the more details you provide within the plan, the better you or your family members can prepare for the loss.

At the end of the day, it is incumbent upon all of us to better prepare ourselves and our families for a significant loss. So, having a detailed plan in place that covers all of those financial, administrative and physical requirements for such a difficult situation is critical to the lives of those you leave behind!

Transcript

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Hey hey, what's up out there, everybody? I'm your host, Greg Mack at the You Better Plan on the Podcast. Catch me every Tuesday at 12 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Or catch me live at that same time on YouTube. Or you can go to www.youbetterplan on the podcast.budsprout.com and catch me there. Also hit that subscribe button because I got plenty to come. Now with that said, I want to talk to you about something very important for each and every one of us. Especially if you are a husband, a wife, a father, a grandfather, whatever. If you are a senior family member, you have children or grandchildren or people that are important to you. I want you to think about having a plan in place. Should something happen to you. No, something that I just came from. I I laid a very dear friend of mine to rest uh over the weekend. And it was a very difficult time. Um there were so many family members that I hadn't seen in so many years, and so many more that I never met before. But uh he he was my brother, my dear friend. Knew him for probably somewhere between 35 to 40 years total, and we just had a great relationship, and laying him to rest was so difficult, you know. And you know, while I was there with the family, getting a chance to hear them, you know, trying to plan things and get things done, it is a very difficult time. So for those of you out there, my podcast talks about planning, and you always have to have a plan in place. I don't care who you are or what you do or what you have in life, having a plan in place to protect you and your family should something happen to you, is something very significant and should be done on all levels of life. So, you know, for me to you, I want you to take the time to sit down and think about it. If you are a head of household, someone of significance in your household, if something should happen to you, what is your plan? I mean, yes, most of us have a willpower paternity or trust and whatnot, but if something happened to you all of a sudden, and your spouse or your loved one has to jump through the hoops to try to figure things out, a lot of times they don't know exactly what to do right then and there. So I want to submit to you today to create an instructional guide, you know, starting from should this happen to me, the first thing that I want my wife or my husband and my sister, my brother to do is this. And do it step by step by step and put some details in there so that he or she knows exactly what to do. Because I'm telling you, uh, in my case, I'm a veteran, and there's a lot to it when you lose a veteran and it involves getting a flag, and if you're gonna put that veteran in a national cemetery, and when can that veteran go into the national cemetery? And how do you go about what is the process that you need to do to make sure that he or she gets full military honors? I mean, that is a difficult task in itself if you haven't never dealt with it before and you never expected to deal with it, and then all of a sudden, bam, death happens, death comes to the door, and that veteran is gone. Or that family member, doesn't matter, doesn't even have to be a veteran, but I'm saying in case of a veteran, think about what you would want to make sure you know exactly in terms of step by step, you have a plan in place, not okay, my wife and my husband passed away, now I gotta figure out what to do all the way around, you know, and then you have to start thinking about things because there is no guide to this, you know, no everyday guide to it. But if you do it smartly, you know, and that's something that I've already started working on because I told myself, you know, if something happened to me, I know my wife's not familiar with exactly what to do, the entire process dealing with the veteran, you know, and if you're going to relocate me, uh, I'm from originally from North Carolina. Am I going to be relocated back to North Carolina? There's things in there that need to be done. Is there a trust, uh, power of attorney, who's the executor? All those things that you need to have in place. Uh, and yes, she would figure it out, but isn't it better if I help her by giving her some instruction on exactly what to do because I understand the process and whatnot of how to go about doing it? Because I have a pretty good understanding. Uh, if a veteran passes away in my case, if I should, and I know at some point he's gonna call me home, you know, what do I have in place to make sure that she knows what to do? You know, do I have some things like and we have the thing called my pay, you know, allotments and things of that nature, you know, and and and insurance and that type of thing there. Inside of that, does she know the password or how to get into it? Does she even know it exists? Those kinds of things. You know, you got to ask yourself, what are the things that I can do from A to Z to make sure my wife and my spouse and my loved one has the information they need? You know, and maybe you do it two ways. And you should do it two ways. Put it on your computer, somewhere where she can find it, he or she can find it, and also make a hard copy, put it in the binder and put it in your your important or an envelope or something, put it in your important paperworks and have it labeled, have it tagged so that that person can go in and say, okay, this has happened to my significant other or my loved one, and these are the steps that I can take. Because I'm telling you, it's important, you know, and I've been to a lot of situations, been involved in a lot of situations, uh, just like I'm sure many of you are, and you know, you got someone trying to figure out what to do because they don't know exactly what to do. They've never expected to be put in that position, and then all of a sudden something happens. I mean, they know the basics, yeah, mortuary and those types of things, and where the funeral's gonna be. A lot of times they know that stuff, but at the same time, you have multiple accounts, most likely, bank accounts, and then in my case, like I'm a veteran, I have uh some extra things going on as well. But if my wife doesn't know all that stuff, now she's got to get on the phone and try to call someone to try to figure things out and trying to figure out, and it is stressful because I watch my buddy's family go through stress and hell putting things together and making sure, you know, they because they put him in the Miramore National Cemetery, understandably. So uh Master Gunnery Saw and VIP level status, as far as I'm concerned, uh great man, awesome man, awesome family, you know, and taking the time to make sure you do things decent and in order is a big deal. But if you don't have a plan, now you have family members trying to jump through the hoops to try to figure out what to do, and now they're on the phone trying to call these different people. And I'm telling you, a lot of times you get the runaround, you know. I hate to say it, it is just true. You get the runaround in certain situations trying to figure things out. You know, uh, what's the insurance policy? Who's he insured by? Who's she insured by? You know, and then getting it, how long does it take for you to get the insurance money? Do you have to have a death certificate? Can you prove to that insurance company that you know your significant other or your family member has passed on and you're trying to make sure you get that? Because I'm telling you, funerals cost situations like that cost. Death is very costly, especially in today's world and society. So I want to make sure you think about it. You know, so for those of you, like I said, head a household or got some significance with the household where you're involved, even if you're the executor, take the time, sit down, say, okay, I'm a husband, I'm a wife, I'm a father, I'm a mother, and say, if something happened to me, just get get a pen and paper or get on your laptop or computer, whatever, and just jot down in orderly fashion what steps you think you would do, and go back and review it again and again, and then take out, add in whatever you need to do to make sure it's in detail. Put it in detail now. Once you got it done, you're in good shape because all you need to do from there is make sure now you save it and put it in a place where you know where it is, and your significant other or your loved one knows where it is, and also put it on paper, put it in an envelope or binder or something, and put it with your important papers so that way if something should happen to you, hey, this is what I need to do to make this happen. It's stressful enough when you know you you lose someone, and then all of a sudden you gotta try to figure it out. I'm telling you, because like I said, it's costly, and now you're making phone call after phone call, you're getting worked up, you're getting stressed out, you you're already grieving, it is painful, and you get another family members involved and they're going through stuff. And I'm telling you, I've seen situations where altercations take place because no one has a clear understanding of what to do and how to do it, why to do it, when to do it, you know, you're jumping through the hoops, or you know, you're trying to figure out what do we need to do for the insurance and and get things together. So, you know, we got we gotta do something here. And my plan for you, just as it is for me, is for you to take your opportunity and create a detailed plan. Like I said before, a detailed plan. Exactly how you know that things should go. And then have a discussion with your significant other of your loved one about that particular plan. Show them where it's located on the computer, on a flash drive, or and then on paper, and where it's gonna be kept should something happen. Especially like you have a house fire or something, all of a sudden, make sure it's in a safe, you know, because you know, the computer, flash drives, all that stuff burns. But if you got stuff in a safe, now you have it. So when he or she has to go and find that information, they have it, you know, because it is like I said, it's tough, man. And you know, and being at that funeral service, being a part of it, getting a chance to speak about him, it was amazing. But watching what they had to go through for a couple of months prior to laying him to rest, it was it was difficult because this was an all of a sudden death, you know, and they're not military, they're a military family, but you know, daughters are grown and gone, and he's been retired for for years, you know, well over a decade and whatnot. So that's just different things and different ways to do things. So they had to get on the phone and and call, contact people, and and go through the stresses of where to find this and where to find that, you know. And he worked uh at the military base out there in Miramar, and they had to go there, you know, you got to clean out his office, and you know, does he have important documents there? You know, and then he got things at home, things in different locations, and you're trying to roost around and get everything together that you can, you know, and you check it out the insurance papers and and and and going through the military burial service, and who do I need to call here? It is a rush to the head. So I want you to think about it and think about it in depth and then put it in action. Make that plan. Don't wait because at any given moment we can be called home, and now you have someone trying to operate on your behalf that has a minor clue of what to do, but not enough information to do it, and now that person and those people within your family has to do the hoopex to try to figure things out. So we can eliminate that by having something in place, and I want you to do that. I seriously want you to consider doing that. Take the time to do it, don't wait. Don't wait, don't wait. Just do it. And I promise you, you will have something detailed, beautiful, that can be used right away. Oh man, I know where to get it from. Hey, we have it on paper, we have it on the computer, look it up, and then you can execute in such an easier fashion than trying to figure it all out when nobody has a plan. So, with that said, thank you for your time. I just really want you to take into consideration to do this plan and put it in place so that you can make sure if something should happen to you, that your loved ones have what is needed to take care of you and take care of the family and everyone, and you know, mitigate that stress to the greatest extent possible. And I know it'll be greatly appreciated from all sides. So, take care of yourselves out there. Love you guys, appreciate you standing in and supporting me and my podcast. Always remember a plan that succeeds is a plan that can fulfill one's needs. Again, you can catch me every Tuesday at 12 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, or you can go to YouTube and catch me live at that same time, or go to www.ubetterplan on the podcast.burnsprout.com and catch me there on one of your favorite sites. And also again, hit that subscribe button. I'm telling you, I got much more to come. Again, God bless. Take care, love you guys. We'll talk soon.