Making plans and decisions for the end of your life

End of life planning

Planning and making decisions about the end of your life can be a positive experience. It is a good opportunity to reflect on the things that are important to you, and to make arrangements that suit you.

Planning ahead will enable you and your family to access many different services that exist to help you prepare for the end of your life. It can also make things easier for your family to put things into place knowing they are acting according to your wishes.

If you are living with a life-limiting illness, there is financial support available for your care, health expenses and other everyday expenses. There is also financial support available for carers through payments, discounts or subsidies to purchase necessary aids, equipment or services.

Learn more about your condition

To put good plans in place, you will need to learn more about your condition and understand what you are facing. Your doctor will work with you to help you understand how your condition will progress. Don’t be afraid to ask questions – it’s important to learn as much as you can.

Some of the types of questions that you might ask your doctor include:

• If I am thinking about being cared for at home, what medications or treatment and equipment will be available to me?
• How will this medication and treatment be administered?
• What would this mean for my carer? Knowing what you and your carers should expect will help you to plan for your situation.

Make an advance directive

Advance care planning is the process of making your care and medical treatment preferences known to your loved ones and your treating team in the event that you cannot make these decisions yourself.

Advance care planning usually involves writing your medical preferences down, but you should also talk with those close to you, your family, your doctor and treating team to make sure they are aware of what is important to you.

You can document your medical treatment preferences in an advance care directive to give you greater confidence that your medical treatment decisions will be respected. This will also help your family and those close to you make medical treatment decisions on your behalf, should you be become too unwell to do so yourself.

Read more information on recording your wishes for future care at Advance care plans.

Appointing a person to make decisions for you

Another way you can plan for your future is to appoint another person to make decisions for you, should you become too unwell to do so yourself.

There are different kinds of legal appointments that grant decision-making powers:

• Medical treatment decision maker – can manage your medical needs
• Enduring power of attorney – can manage your finances
• Enduring power of guardianship – can make personal and lifestyle decisions.

Once appointed, each of these people can make decisions on your behalf. The Office of the Public Advocate outlines the roles of each and provides support for them in their role.

Think about who you want to take on these responsibilities and then approach them to have the conversation. You will be trusting this person with your life and finances, so they should be someone you know very well and who you can speak to about sensitive issues. They should understand what is important to you, and be able to act on your wishes – even when faced with opposition from doctors or other family members.

After you have made your decision, there are necessary legal steps you will have to follow to make these appointments. Legal forms for making these appointments can be found on the Office of the Public Advocate website.

Making a will

If you discover you are terminally ill, it is important that you either make a will or, if you already have one, update it to make sure it is current and includes all the assets and property you wish to leave to your family, friends, charities and other organisations.

When drawing up your will, it is a good idea to consult a solicitor, the State Trustees or a trustee company to make sure that it is drafted correctly and is very clear and precise. This will ensure that your property is allocated the way you desire. An ambiguous will can lead to family fights and property division in ways that you did not intend.

If you do not have a will then your property will be distributed to your nearest next of kin as stipulated by the Administration and Probate Act 1958.

For more information see Victoria Legal Aid – Wills and estates.

Financial planning

When you’re coming to the end of your life, it’s a good idea to put your finances in order.

If you have appointed a financial enduring power of attorney, you can work with them to ensure that your wishes are known and documented. Making sure that your will is up-to-date and understanding what will happen to your financial accounts will make it easier for those managing your estate after your death.

You may also wish to consider:

• Seeking professional financial advice – to ensure that you and your family know how to access your superannuation and insurance.
• Prepaid funerals – you can arrange and purchase your funeral in advance. See moneysmart.gov.au for more information.
• Financial support for carers – The Australian and Victorian Governments offer a number of carer support services to people who provide care for someone living with a life-limiting illness.

Planning personal matters

There may be other personal matters you would like to put into place. You might like to visit a special place with friends, have particular requests for your funeral or organise other personal matters.

As well as discussing and writing down your wishes for future care, take the time to think about how you wish to be treated after you die. This will help the person you choose to make those decisions on your behalf feel more comfortable about making those choices. Some of the many things to consider:

• At your funeral, do you want an open or closed coffin?
• Do you want to be dressed in something special for your funeral?
• Do you want to be buried or cremated?
• If buried, where do you wish to be buried?
• If buried in a cemetery, do you want a headstone or a plaque?
• If cremated, do you want to have your ashes interred at a cemetery or do you want them given to your family in an urn to be scattered somewhere special to you?

Funerals Australia provides information about how you can simplify these types of decisions for your family. You can document your wishes in an ‘Advance funeral wishes’ document. Most funeral directors can help you to pre-arrange your funeral.

Where to get help

• Palliative Care Advice Service
• Your financial advisor or accountant
• Your insurance company
• Office of the Public Advocate Tel. 1300 309 337
• Victoria Legal Aid - Wills and estates Tel. 1300 792 387
• Carers Victoria Tel. 1800 514 845