Resources: planning ahead

Dying Matters resources

Planning for Your Future Care: this popular guide outlines the different options available to people when planning for their end of life care.

Advance care planning for volunteers: this training programme, which Dying Matters was involved in creating, prepares volunteers to share information about advance care planning (what it means, how it can be done) with people in their local communities or work places. Suitable for community groups, health and social care staff, pensioners' action groups and similar.

Legal and ethical matters: outlines how advance decisions or living wills can be made.

Putting your house in order: Dying Matters leaflet outlining five things to think about when planning for the end of life.

My Funeral Wishes: a simple form created by Dying Matters and the National Association of Funeral Directors which lets you create a personal funeral plan reflecting you as an individual.    

Other resources 

Advance care planning (living wills)

Macmillan Cancer Support: Advance care planning in England and Wales

Macmillan Cancer Support: Advance care planning in Scotland

Macmillan Cancer Support: Advance care planning in Northern Ireland

My Living Will, a not-for-profit group created with the help and advice of senior healthcare experts and lawyers, provides comprehensive information on Advance Decisions to refuse treatment (AD) and Advance Statements of wishes and preferences (AS). 

Marie Curie: Choosing where to be cared for: guidance on the different care settings available. 

Marie Curie: Planning your care in advance: information and guidance on advance care planning, resuscitation or Do Not Attempt CPR and more. 

Advance Care Planning and legal issues, including Wills

Macmillan Cancer Support: Your life and your choices: plan ahead - a comprehensive booklet about Advance Care Planning, which includes advice on creating a Lasting Power of Attorney, using a Preferred Priorities for Care document and writing Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment. It also has information about making a will, organ and tissue donation, and funeral planning.    

Marie Curie: Preparing for the end of life - this booklet explains what happens at the end of life and how to plan for it.

Advance Care Planning toolkit for professionals: aimed at generalists caring for people with progressive illnesses and those reaching the end stage of their lives.

NHS Choices: end of life care: a comprehensive guide for people in England who are approaching the end of their life, as well as useful information for those who are caring for someone who is dying, or who want to plan in advance for their end of life care.

Cancer Research UK: Decisions about your care at the end of life: looks at the decisions you and your family and friends may need to make about your care in the last few weeks of life. 

NHS Choices: Planning ahead for the end of life: includes information about the right to refuse life-prolonging treatments.

Marie Curie: Making a Will - a guide to how to get started and who can help when you make a will. 

Marie Curie: Setting up Power of Attorney: a comprehensive guide to what you need to do to ensure your affairs are managed correctly on your behalf. 

Alzheimer’s Society: information on advance decisions and free advance decision form to download.

Compassion in Dying: a charitable  organisation aiming to help people understand and exercise their rights at the end of life, such as how to appoint a lasting power of attorney, make an advance decision and set out preferred priorities of care.  

Funeral advice

Marie Curie: information and advice on the increasingly common practice of planning your own funeral. 

National Association of Funeral Directors: advice on what a funeral director does and how to choose one, plus the importance of planning your funeral.

Association of Green Funeral Directors: explains the code of conduct of green funeral directors.

Natural Death Centre: charity giving free advice on all aspects of dying, bereavement and consumer rights. The Natural Death Centre advises on environmentally friendly funerals, and runs the Association of Natural Burial Grounds.

Funeral Guide: A useful site that helps you compare funeral directors

Organ donation 

Dying Matters: organ donation: information, links and advice.

NHS Blood and Transplant: provides official information about organ donation.

NHS Choices: Organ Donation: information about organ donor registration and transplant waiting lists.

Human Tissue Authority: information about how to donate your body, tissues (eg: skin, stems cells and bone) and organs for research.

Marie Curie: Organ and tissue donation: what you need to do if you want to donate your organs, tissue or body after you die.

Babies and young children

SANDS: stillbirth and neonatal death charity which specialises in supporting anyone affected by the death of a baby and promotes research to reduce the loss of babies’ lives.

Together for Short Lives: offers a guide to end of life care of children and young people before death, at the time of death and after death.

Advice on creating a will

Citizens Advice Bureau: wills - comprehensive advice on the importance of wills, the legal implications, and how to make one.

Age UK: Power of Attorney - provides clear information about choosing a power of attorney, and offers a free guide to download.

The British Heart Foundation - offers a free booklet about leaving a gift in your will, which includes guidance for making a simple will, things to think about before your appointment and a jargon buster. To get a copy,  email legacies@bhf.org.uk or call 0844 847 2787. 

Tax

Tax Help: A guide to taxation at bereavement - a booklet produced by the charity Tax Help for Older People which offers a checklist and reminder of things to do about tax at bereavement.

Hospice care

Hospice UK: the UK charity for hospice care, providing information and support for patients, carers and healthcare professionals.

Pets

Marie Curie: general advice and guidance on rehoming your pet, plus links to organisations that can help. 

The Cinnamon Trust: as well as helping care for the pets of terminally ill and elderly people (eg: dog walking), The Cinnamon Trust provides long-term care for companion animals whose owners have died or have moved to accommodation which does not accept them. 

Dogs Trust - Canine Care Card: this scheme is free to join and means that if an owner dies before their pet, the Dogs Trust would take it in and rehome it. 

Recommended reading

The D-Word: Talking about Dying: provides information on planning ahead and creating living wills.

Nearing the End of Life: a guide for relatives, friends and carers: practical, down-to-earth guide for anyone either looking after or close to a dying person.

The Good Funeral Guide: everything you need to know about organising a funeral.

We need to talk about the Funeral: 101 practical ways to commemorate and celebrate life: informs about the wide choices available when arranging a funeral.

The Natural Death Centre Handbook: information about approaching the end of life and organising funerals.

View further Dying Matters book recommendations

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• Planning ahead