I think about it frequently but don't get too hung up on it. A friend put it well:
Quote:
I don't fear death because I don't believe there's anything to fear. I like existing though and am not particularly interested in not existing anymore.
WRT whatthejish's post about thinking about death.
At he correctly mentioned when discussing dental insurance, I'm on the back nine of life.
I don't think about it much, except in terms like DodgerIrish (I think) was mentioning: what more can I do with my time while available?
I'm pretty much at peace with the thought of dying. All of my investments are set to transfer on death*. I have a will which clearly lays out how I want a few things distributed. So, I've tried to set things up such that 10 minutes after I die, it will be as if I was never here.
I think having things in order helps make the thought of dying less stressful.
That being said, I'm apprehensive about the time leading up to death. My mother got a cancer diagnosis and just kind of wasted away over the course of the last 15 months of her life. Don't want to go like that, in pain and suffering.
So, sometimes, I do think about what I might do in a similar situation. But that doesn't occupy a large amount of my time.
*For those of you who are single, you should look into this. First, let me state IANAL or estate planner; laws in your jurisdiction may vary.
I learned about TOD when an uncle of mine who never married, never had kids passed away. It allowed him to do a couple of things:
Distribute assets to non-heirs. My uncle had some CDs that would've normally just went into the estate funds, but because he made them TOD, they immediately transferred to the people designated. Meant we didn't have to slog through the estate, those people could get the assets much more quickly. Also, allowed him to designate people who wouldn't have been part of his estate normally.
Avoid probate, at least where he lived. Since TOD assets are not part of the estate, the county doesn't take their percentage out for fees like they do with estate money.
I assume in the case of married people, the assets of one just become the assets of the other upon death so there's no need for TOD, but don't know. All of the estates I've worked have been for then-single people.