An advanced care directive conveys your wishes should you become incapacitated at the end of life. It is a document that allows you to name a medical decision maker. Each state has forms that comply with local state requirements, which you can easily google by putting your state name and “advance directive” in the search bar.

Please read your form carefully and follow instructions especially as it pertains to witness signatures.

Download a Michigan form here.

When you die, your next-of-kin has the legal right to make decisions regarding funeral arrangements and body disposition. For certain people, this can be potentially problematic due to estrangement or differing values. This document allows you to name a funeral representative that will help carry out your wishes post-mortem.

Link to the document here.

Compassion & Choices improves care, expands options and empowers everyone to chart their end-of-life journey, including medical aid in dying.

Learn more here.

The Green Burial Council is a nonprofit environmental certification and education organization that sets standards for natural burial in North America.

Learn more here.

Emmanuel Hospice in Grand Rapids is an interfaith collaboration created by St. Ann’s, Clark, Brio Living Services, and Sunset. With over 200 years of combined experience, they share resources, skills and expertise to deliver end-of-life care with unparalleled compassion.

Learn more here.

Funeral Consumers Alliance is a national consumer organization that monitors the funeral industry, keeping a close eye on industry trends and advocating for fair practices on behalf of consumers.

Learn more here.

When a loved one passes, we feel an innate desire to return them to the earth. But cremated ashes are actually harmful to our environment when planted or scattered. Let Your Love Grow provides an all-organic mixture designed to offset the natural toxicity of ash and invite new life to flourish with memorial plants.

Learn more here.

Please read Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, or watch the documentary available on FrontLine, which explores the limitations of modern medicine in dealing with aging, decline, and death, and how we can shift perspective and practices to better support people of advanced age and at end of life.