Share What Matters
You have taken time to reflect and put important plans in place.
Now make sure the people who may need those plans know they exist.
Sharing so the right people understand your wishes, know their responsibilities, and know where important documents and information can be found.
Who Should Know About My Plans?
Your Family
Talk with the people closest to you about the decisions you have made and the wishes you want them to understand.
Your Executor or Personal Representative
Make sure the person responsible for carrying out your estate plans knows that you have chosen them and where your important documents are kept.
Your Health Care Decision-Maker
The person you have chosen to speak for you should understand your medical wishes, your Catholic values, and where your advance directive can be found.
Your Financial Power of Attorney
If you have named someone to handle financial matters for you, make sure that person understands the role and knows where the necessary information is located.
Your Pastor or Parish Staff
If you have funeral wishes, sacramental requests, or a legacy gift involving your parish, consider making the appropriate people aware of those plans.
You do not need to share everything with everyone. The goal is simply to make sure the right people have the information they may someday need.
A good plan is only useful if the right people know about it. Use the Sharing Your Plans Checklist to walk through the five groups of people who may need to know about your plans: your family, executor, health care decision-maker, financial power of attorney, and parish.
The checklist will help you identify what each person should know, what documents they may need to find, and which conversations you still need to have.