The death of a loved one can be hard enough to deal with without the extra worry about the cost of carrying out their wishes. Key decisions — including the executor of the will, whether to die at home or whether you are buried among the trees or cremated — all involve a financial burden and much easier made when family members are not bereaved…

There is a tension between the right of a Will-maker to choose who will benefit from his or her estate and the frequent expectation by adult children that they will be the primary beneficiaries of their parent’s estate. ..

Some leading doctors and ethicists are calling for uniform national laws to guarantee a dying person’s wishes, as expressed in a living will, are respected by doctors and hospitals. They say new medical technology is sometimes prolonging life unnecessarily…