Grief is a universal human experience. At some point or another, every single person on this planet will lose someone. It’s one of the hardest things we go through, and each culture has its own way of preparing for, and getting through, this impossibly difficult task.
As the dust settles and you process the death of your loved one, there is a consistent, nagging question:
“What do I do with all their stuff?”
Enter the practice of Swedish death cleaning, a process of downsizing, decluttering, and intentionally organizing before you die–so your loved ones don’t have to go through all your belongings themselves.
Author Margareta Magnusson brought the idea to the mainstream with her 2018 book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. And as of last year, there’s a Peacock show by the same name that features a team of experts guiding the process of intentionally letting go of “stuff” to make more room for living life while we’re still here.
As a Financial Advisor, I’m used to speaking with people about planning for the future, including their retirement plans and the gifts they want to leave behind for their families. But dollars and cents aren’t the only things causing stress as people grieve their grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, friends, and neighbors.
The rising popularity of Swedish death cleaning is a much-needed reminder that when we plan for the future, it’s not just about paperwork. It’s about leaving a legacy for those who are still living. And that legacy doesn’t need to include every single thing you’ve ever owned.
Planning Considerations for the LGBTQ+ Community
It can be particularly difficult to plan for retirement and end-of-life care for the LGBTQ+ community. Queer and trans people of all ages are more likely to live in poverty without access to consistent medical care, housing, and transportation–let alone the time, money, and energy to regularly meet with a financial planner or even think about investing in mutual funds.
The burden of care and, yes, death cleaning, tends to fall to the deceased’s children and other family members. But LGBTQ+ elders are four times less likely to have adult children than their heterosexual counterparts (SAGE). So who’s around to notice when queer elders need care, and who would think to check if they have a will, life insurance, or other estate planning considerations?
As a Financial Advisor, I see all too often what happens when people start trying to plan and save at the last minute–it can be extremely confusing to decide where to invest, how much, and how conservative or risky to be.
And as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I want us to do better for our elders, and for ourselves. I think we should start death cleaning, in our homes and in our finances.
Recommendations for End of Life Planning
On the emotional and logistical side, a downsizing process like The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning is a great place to begin. Gather up your friends and family (including found family) and really go through your home with your legacy in mind. Can you give things to their future intended recipients now? Can you let go of the ugly lamp no one wants, to save them from having to display it in their home out of unnecessary sentimentality?
On the financial side, think of your financial legacy like a tree:
The roots are the values you live by and the relationships and communities you’ve built and maintained. The trunk is your basic survival needs–a solid budgeting method and, ideally, an emergency fund.
The branches represent the strides you can take toward this legacy. Your retirement investments are one branch, which will yield fruit for yourself or your heirs. Another branch might be college savings for the children in your life. Another is estate planning, making sure that you’ve written a will and have all the necessary documentation in place for power-of-attorney and child custody arrangements–especially important in the queer community, as your next of kin may default to your parents if you aren’t legally married or listed on a child’s birth certificate.
If any of these branches aren’t in place, the tree still survives. You can prune a tree, it can lose a limb and keep growing. But the more you’re able to support the roots and trunk of the tree, the more branches it will grow and the more fruit it will bear.
Of course, starting as soon as possible is the best way to ensure that your financial needs are met in retirement, and that your family won’t have to worry about how to pay for your end-of-life care and funeral. But just like the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago… the second best time to plant a tree, and to start planning for your future, is now.
Schedule a Consultation
Schedule a free consultation with me at Morgan Financial Associates, LLC, to start planning your financial future. From retirement to life insurance to college savings and more, we can help you establish a plan that works for you and your family, no matter how small or large.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) noted and may or may not represent the views of Capital Analysts or Lincoln Investment. The material presented is provided for informational purposes only.