LearnVest Covers Death Over Dinner… and Us!

The popular financial site LearnVest has jumped on the Death Over Dinner train with this recent article "Death Dinners: Why Dying Is a Supper Topic Du Jour":

For many people these days, one effective way to share their very personal end-of-life decisions and desires with friends and family is to host “death dinners.” The hope is that gathering over a meal will make discussing the topic of dying a little more palatable, while also sparing loved ones from fighting over financial and medical issues down the road.

The article not only highlights our friends at DeathOverDinner.org but they also spoke with our co-founder about Everplans:

A Helping Hand With End-of-Life Planning

There are a growing number of websites, like Everplans.com, that help people understand how much end-of-life planning they need, as well as offer checklists and other invaluable tools to help them accomplish their goals.

“This type of planning isn’t morbid—it’s responsible,” says Abby Schneiderman, the founder of Everplans.com. After relying on a wealth of online resources to plan her wedding and prepare for the birth of her first child, Schneiderman was surprised by the lack of websites out there for people dealing with death. “I was struck by all of the wonderful tools out there for people who are going through very happy life transitions,” she says. “But I asked myself, ‘What’s out there for people who are dealing with the unhappy life transitions?’ ”

That question took on tragic urgency when Schneiderman’s brother was killed in a car accident in 2012. “All of a sudden, we weren’t building a site for people who might die someday,” she says. “Our goal became one of helping people sift through all of the overwhelming and complex information that accompanies end of life.”

Today, Everplans provides advice on everything from writing a will and appointing a power of attorney to making funeral arrangements and settling the estates of loved ones. And the site will soon launch a service that will allow members to create a free Everplan online, where they can assess their end-of-life preparation, securely store important documents and access tools to complete the rest of their planning.

“If you don’t have [these conversations], then your family is left to make decisions for you at a time when they shouldn’t be—and they can be really expensive,” says Schneiderman. “Plus, when someone you love dies, you’re in a fog. It’s not the best time to be making those decisions.”

Thanks for spreading the planning word, LearnVest.