The Loose Connections Recommender #14

On Procrastination, Playlists & Preparation

The beginning of a new year is generally full of tremulous hopes and hopeful resolutions and important plans and aims and determinations etc etc etc, like learn French, exercise more, drink green juice, go to the moon, become a millionaire and things like that.

My humble Loose Connections recommendation #14 is that it’s also a great time to finally get your sh*t together and tackle some of the big ticket items that never quite seem urgent enough to get around to.

Like writing your Last Will & Testament, including your living will (advanced health care directive). Yep, I know. Boring. Overwhelming. Expensive. Too hard. Complex. Unnecessary. If you have taken care of this already, CONGRATULATIONS, high fives and gold stars to you. You can move on to writing your Final Playlist - or at least a list of five songs are that meaningful to you - and making sure there is someone that knows how to find that list in case you’re not here to point them in the right direction. If you’ve done that, you can feel smug and go read a good book.

Two out of three Americans - 64% of the population - don’t have a will. Over 40% of them say they would wait for a life limiting medical diagnosis to even be motivated to write one.

In Australia, that figure is 48% of the population.

Considering how incredibly easy it is to suddenly turn up dead with no warning and through no fault of your own for any number of reasons, it really does make sense to look this fact of your eventual impending demise in the eye and actually deal with it.

For people like me that don’t own a home or have few valuable possessions, it can feel completely pointless. But I feel a great motivator is the fact that if you don’t have a will, you don’t have any control over your estate. The State will decide what becomes of it all, regardless of what your intentions were. Personally I can’t stand being told what to do and like to be in control, so the idea of this happening bothers me very much. Your will can act as your ‘voice’ if you are no longer there to speak for yourself.

Now I don’t want to sound like an advertisement but I do just want to suggest that if the idea of making an appointment with an estate lawyer is just too …much… then there are really excellent online end-of-life planning services available now and you should just bite the bullet and avail yourself of one of them immediately. I have spent time researching the available options for the US, UK and Australia - these legal documents are country specific - and my new year gift to you is these recommendations below. If you live outside of these territories, you will need to do your own research but I imagine you can find something similar.

To make sure a will is legally binding, all you need is to print it out and have it signed by two witnesses.

In the US: for $199 annual fee ($349 for a couple), Legal Zoom will give you access to a network of attorneys to confer about your estate, your Financial power of attorney (POA) and a living will (advance healthcare directive) and make unlimited revisions of your documents.

Trust and Will is another highly reputable US based online will platform, very simple to use. They also have this informative article about what happens if you die without a Will.

To create a simple legally binding will for FREE, try Fabric.

All of these companies have an excellent A+ rating with the BBB and great reviews on TrustPilot.

If you have very complex needs or need to create an International Will to deal with estate planning in more than one country you should seek more personalised legal advice.

In Australia: Create your will online with SafeWill (quick, they currently have a half price special for $80!) and it will be individually reviewed by their legal team for your peace of mind. You can start the process for free and pay when you’re ready. You can ask questions via live chat or telephone. They have cool things like military grade encrypted digital vaults for storing and sharing important personal papers. I used this platform myself not too long ago and felt like I was in very good hands.

In the UK: Farewill (I love all the punny names) have been crowned National Will Writing Firm of the Year at the British Wills and Probate Awards for the past four years so I reckon they will take great care of your end of life planning needs. You can write your own will for 100 pounds, with free support by email or phone, or have it written for you over the telephone by a specialist for 240 pounds.

I hope this has provided some impetus to get on with taking care of things. I recommend you also make sure your loved ones know what your favourite songs are, so they can play/listen to them to remember/celebrate you when you’re gone.

I have a lot more to explore and ponder and talk about with all of this - I’d love to hear about your thoughts and experiences on wills and end of life plans and playlists - please share in the comments. More from me soon.

Now go do it! Sign up today! Start the year right.

Lo x

PS: If you require a little more motivation to reflect on the unexpected twists and turns of life and why you should probably be somewhat prepared for them, today I would also like to recommend

Hanif Kureishi

’s wonderful life affirming thought provoking Substack:

On Boxing Day 2022, in Rome, after taking a comfortable walk to the Piazza del Popolo, followed by a stroll through the Villa Borghese, and then back to the apartment, I had a fall.

I woke up a few minutes later in a pool of blood, my neck in a grotesquely twisted position, my wife on her knees beside me. I believed I was dying. I believed I had three breaths left.

Now, without the use of my hands, or any other limbs, which is a considerable inconvenience, I write a daily dispatch from my hospital bed, which I dictate to my family who then send it out to you.

My rambling dispatches from my hospital bed will arrive directly to your inbox, daily, if I’m up to it.