E329 Professional Executor for Physician-Assisted Dying

Physician-Assisted Dying has other names that might be familiar: death with dignity, aid in dying, assisted death, euthanasia, and assisted suicide

Since we’ve received many inquiries from our Solo Agers, here some of your FAQs:

Making arrangements from Switzerland

Can my professional executor help make arrangements from Switzerland after I pass?

Switzerland is often the go-to jurisdiction, but there may be others in the U.S. The medical facilities need to know who to notify upon death, and we have filled the role as the entity to be notified. You also need to make arrangements to send final personal effects (phone, wallet) after your passing. Again, we have been in that role before, and we have coordinated the receipt of the personal belongings.

Live your last days to the fullest

If you are scheduling a physician-assisted death, you have to weigh the balance between preparing and living your life to the fullest.

We get calls from Solo Agers who are very focused on preparing and tying up any loose ends (cleaning out and selling their home). Our advice is to go ahead and take care of the low-stress items but leave the rest to us. It is our job to figure things out upon your passing, and it’s very unlikely that you will think of everything that needs to be done anyway. There is a limit to how much you will be able to help us, no matter how hard you try. Most folks have not gone through probate enough to know what needs to be done, so it’s better to let us handle it. Most people pass away unexpectedly and most things are generally unorganized anyway.

Instead, do your best to enjoy your remaining time and complete that bucket list!

To disclose or not to disclose

Do I need to tell my executor that I plan to have a physician-assisted death? It’s totally up to you; we’ve dealt with both.

Telling us helps us be ready on the scheduled date. But if you prefer your privacy, it’s no problem; we’ve done that too. Most deaths are unexpected, so we are used to it.

Perhaps your loved ones don’t know that your death was planned. As professional executors, we know how to handle the situation tactfully.

Click the link below to check out my book, “The Solo Ager Estate Plan.” This topic is not covered specifically in my book, but it will help you learn more about probate in general.