How to Best Prepare for End of Life Choices Part 2

In my prior blog of February 9 about best preparing for End of Life  choices, I wrote about fulfilling the last days of one's life.  I am now supplementing this with Part 2.  Once we are gone how do we wish to be remembered?  Where do we want our final resting place to be?  It has always been tradition to have a funeral and a burial along one's religion's customs but as trends change so does this.

My ancestors, and similarly as did many cultures, had burials in the local cemetery where they lived or on the property they owned.  Many immigrant communities who came to the US  acquired cemeteries with sections for their families.  Nowadays we are a much more mobile society.  My parents and grandparents are buried together in the Baker Street cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. This was where many other relatives who belonged to the same synagogues or local community would be interred.  

As I have traveled to other countries I have found it fascinating to visit old Jewish cemeteries   Often once thriving communities left behind memorials with remnants of their society only to be later abandoned as demographics change. I now see this happening where I grew up.  Many of the cemeteries where my parents generation buried their predecessors are now abandoned or less frequented by new departures as the communities migrate away.

When I pass chances are I may retire in another state or that my descendants (Three out of three of my offspring live out of state now) will settle far away.  Would it make sense for me to be buried near my parents or somewhere where my kids may only reside for a temporary portion of their lives?  

                

Saturday's  WSJ discussed the idea of free form funerals.  Perhaps the less traditional options may make more sense.  One option may be to be buried at sea.  Our society is much more mobile and in-flux these days.  Deep roots that expanded multi-generations are becoming a pase`.  This trend is illustrated in a recent novel I just finished by John Grisham, The Reckoning, where a family land right becomes disputed and (spoiler alert) eventually disseminated.  

A living will may be the best framework to formalize where and how you want to end your legacy.   Of course it is always recommended to consult a legal professional before signing any legal document.   As a realtor I can provide some guidance with real property decisions but leave the ultimate resting place choice to my clients and their families.  

Wendy is a realtor with Coldwell Banker Needham.  She has her SRES and often shares insight into the changing dynamics of the marketplace and needs of the more senior and baby boomer population.  She enjoys helping clients buy and sell property with as minimal emotional transitioning as possible.  For more information check her website at www.wendybcb.com.