Funeral Planning Goes Online

Say you want to tell your kids what kind of funeral you want, what kind of music played, who to invite or not invite -- but your kids don’t want to talk about it. “Oh, Mom/Dad, don’t even think about that stuff yet,” they might say.

Go online to MyWonderfulLife.com and plan out your funeral. You can fill in details about music and burial, flowers or charitable contributions. Up to 6 loved ones (ie family members) can have access to your record there, plus notes on where to find your will or other papers. A British counterpart is called YourDeathWish.com -- Brits have such macabre humor sometimes but we love it so.

CAUTION: You might be better off NOT prepaying funeral expenses. You are definitely better off NOT buying funeral insurance. There have been scandals where funeral insurance policies sold by one funeral home were not valid or not honored if the seller closed or was bought out by a competitor. Read the awful truth in the excellent book by Jessica Mitford, The American Way of Death Revisited.