Cynthia M. Martínez

Creator of My Barely Famous Life and Founder Lead Up Labs

Last year I was taken by surprise by the big change my life took when I became a caregiver for an older adult. It is an exhausting process and is made even more complicated when there are many financial gaps regarding the senior's future. As Latinos, culturally we do not believe or are not taught to talk about death or special care as the years pass slowly and in great haste. I would like you, if you haven't had this conversation yet, to make it a priority this year with everyone in your close family circle. With that in mind, remember that you shouldn't wait for the perfect time to start. That moment does not exist and no one wants to talk about it. Simply set a date to meet, and in many cases, you won't be able to cover everything in one meeting.

The questions you should start with are:

• Do you have a will or instructions?
• Who do you want to be notified immediately?
• Where is information about your personal finances, such as insurance policies, investments, bank accounts and mortgages?
• Do you have any burial insurance, funeral plan or financial plan?
• Most accounts have digital links with emails. What should happen to your email and social media accounts? Are your usernames and passwords easily accessible? Questions about services or funerals:
• Where do you want your service to be performed or do you not want to have one?
• Do you have any special requests? For example: music, flowers or readings.
• Do you want people to honor your life by donating to a cause?
• How do you want people to feel when they leave your service?
• Do you prefer cremation or burial?
• Is there a particular cemetery or significant place where you would like to be buried or have your ashes placed?
• Do you want a photo, tombstone, plaque, phrase or other way to be remembered

Ready for creating an expense table. Must include:

• Basic service fee with coffin or urn costs.
• Removal or transfer of remains to a funeral home / Sending cremation.
• Embalming and other body preparations / Cremation services.
• Use of the facilities and a ceremony at a funeral home or venue.
• Service car or hearse.
• Sometimes it is included, but make sure the funeral home has: printed memorial packet (cards) and registry book. Options for religious services, flowers and music.
• Death certificate and legal costs if you need a declaration of heir.
• Right to be buried in the cemetery (right of burial), niche, ground, mausoleum or other space for burial or cremated remains.
• Ongoing annual maintenance fees for the cemetery. No one wants to talk about this, even I don't want to write about it, but it's definitely something we need to do. I feel good now, but when something happens in the future and I'm sad, I want to be able to focus on healing and not worry about how much it will cost. I want to feel peace knowing that I provided the best quality of life for everyone, even in their last breath. It is the best gift we can all give to those we love with all our hearts.

About the Author:

Cynthia M. Martinez is a rebel with a cause, entrepreneur and life and business strategist with a specialty in leadership and innovation. As part of her extensive trajectory as a strategist, she has been developing leaders in the field of direct sales, market opening and consulting at the corporate and SME level for more than a decade. She is the creator of the social media movement in blog format called "My barely famous life" in which she equips followers with leadership and technology tools through her educational program. She is also the founder of Lead Up Labs, a digital platform that has all the tangible and digital tools for participants to increase their productivity and achieve their goals.