Someday, you will die. How you die is another question, and there is much you can do to make sure that your final days are spent in ways that reflect your wishes, beliefs, and values.

One way is to develop an advance directive - a document that serves as a set of instructions to your family members and doctors about what kind of medical care you want if you become so ill that you can no longer speak or make these decisions yourself.

Information about advance directives (specific to each state) is available for free from Caring Connections.

There are two types of these documents:

• Living Will.  This is a document that describes the kind of medical treatment you want - or don't want - at the end of your life. State laws often regulate what kinds of treatments are involved and circumstances in which living wills come into effect. 
  
• Five Wishes.  A new type of living will (available for free on the Internet), it focuses on pain-free comfort during your last days and how you want to be remembered.
  
• Medical Power of Attorney.  Through this document you legally appoint someone close to you to make decisions about your medical care should you no longer be able to make these decisions for yourself. Ask your doctor or a lawyer about this document.

Be sure to discuss your wishes with and give copies of these documents to your family, your doctors, and your lawyer if you have one.

Other decisions you might want to write down and make known to your family members concerning your passing are:

• Do you want to die at home, in a hospice, or in a hospital?
• Do you want to be an organ donor? If so, have you signed an organ donor card? Do you carry it in your wallet?
• Do you want to donate your body to a medical school for research? If so, do you have a particular medical school in mind?
• Do you want a public wake? If so, at which funeral home?
• Do you want to be cremated? If so, do you want your ashes stored, buried, or scattered? Where?
• Do you want to be buried in a cemetery? If so, where? Have you already purchased a burial plot? Do you have burial insurance?
• Do you prefer that friends send flowers or make a financial contribution to a charity in your name? If a charity, which one?
• Do you want a memorial service? If so, where and what kind? Do you want a particular clergy member to lead the service? Who do you want to speak about you during the service? What music and readings do you want during the service?
• How would you like to be remembered?