If You Die Away from Home, What Happens?

In today’s busy world, people are always busy, on the go, and have returned to a pretty full pace of traveling for work and play. The days when we were all mostly shut-in to our homes hunkered down have passed and we now battle incredible heat surges to be out and about. As a result we spend a lot of time under pressure of travel. Weather has caused so many delays in our travel but one thing is certain, the minute we think we’ve thought of everything in our pre-trip planning, there’s always the unexpected.

For those of us who’ve just returned from a Labor Day’s trip someplace, the final holiday before school semesters begin in earnest as well as awaiting Thanksgiving break, it represents a last hurrah of summer and a hopeful anticipation to rain and cooler temperatures that are never as welcome as they are at this time for all of us here.

However, people still have not made a complete return to a typical fall when temperatures are soaring in the 105s and above. During travel, there is always a possibility that someone might pass away unexpectedly. Whether the person is a loved one, back at home, or whether they are the one traveling, the possibility exists. Have you stopped to think about what would happen if you passed away during a vacation?

Would people know your final wishes? Where are they recorded or saved among your personal items? Do your loved ones know where to look? How recently have you updated your preferences? This is one edge of the chances we take every day when we are traveling away from home. What happens if you are 500 miles away from your future burial site? How does that work?

If you have had the opportunity to preplan your funeral arrangements then you may have noticed the opportunity on the forms to select “travel insurance” whereby there is no additional fee to your family to have your taken into the care of a funeral home wherever you are and then transported back to your home town for final burial plans.

Although this is the least likely possible thing you think might happen, it is indeed a possibility that it could happen. And, the minute that you don’t plan for a contingency, there it is. Unfortunately, if this small area is not part of your preplanning, then your family might find itself saddled with an unexpected (and large) expense, depending on how far away from home you might have been when the death occurs.

Also, the relative expense of including it in preplanning costs is so much less a financial burden. And that is why we recommend preplanning so often to our families who are beginning to think about their legacies and final plans.

Another area of contingency is the simple knowledge of your immediate family on where to find your most important papers at critical times. It is often the one conversational topic that people go to extraordinary lengths to avoid. In the best of circumstances, family members of all ages need to have “that talk” with loved ones of adult and higher ages. It takes the mystery and uncertainty out of the equation to have preplanned at least the collection of important papers and documents that are needed when a loved one passes away.

These documents of course include birth certificates, records of military service, academic credentials, genealogy files showing the family tree with ancestor’s names, the family Bible with details about individuals that will go forgotten if not recorded.

One good plan leads to another. Contingencies in life as are as normal as changes in the weather. It’s when you don’t have a plan that things should really be scary for people. Not knowing what your loved one would have wanted is so painful after they pass away because you’re left not knowing what they preferred, what they really wanted, and you can easily freeze up and not make any decisions at all, if you have not had “that talk” with those you love.

There’s also no reason to think that just because you make the plans early that they will need to be completed one day earlier than the actual day that your life will end. There is often a subconscious fear we have that if we ever start thinking about our passing away, that we will. Although it’s easy to laugh and say “no, that doesn’t happen,” it’s the honest reason some people say to us that they didn’t want to come in and discuss preplanning sooner.

However, once they attend one of our group informational sessions and see what all the options are, the reality is that the concept of planning ahead is not at all something to be feared. In fact, there are genuine economic benefits to planning early, especially when you consider the aspect of the preplan that allows a no-additional expense feature.

Another factor that is often forgotten is the feeling of peace of mind that happens once plans are made and they can easily drift into things you don’t have to think about anymore, once all decisions have been made. That’s the real beauty of planning ahead for your final affairs.

Also, once you begin to travel, you won’t worry about anything else. You can feel peace of mind that should something happen to your senior loved ones while you are away on holiday, you can count on us to take care of things until you return home. We are here for you, all the time. That’s the peace of mind of preplanning. We offer regular meet and greet informational lunches and dinners that are scheduled, usually once each month. To receive an invitation to our next free event, please call us at (979) 822-3717 and ask to be placed on our list.