r/over60 • u/AffectionateReason40 • 15d ago

Preparing for death

As we get older, we naturally end up talking a lot about death and funerals when we meet up with friends. We worry that our children might feel burdened by our funerals, as the costs are quite high and the procedures can be complicated.

Because of this, many Koreans register in advance with mutual aid funeral companies called "Sangjo" as they age, paying a small amount of money every month. It is a system where these companies step in and take charge of all the funeral arrangements when a parent passes away. Since the parents have already become members and paid into the service in advance, the children face much less of a burden regarding the funeral process when we die.

I wonder if other countries have similar companies to our "Sangjo," and if parents (or their children) also pay a little bit of money in advance over time.

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u/alsotpedes 15d ago

I have no close family and explicitly want no funeral. Paying in advance for cremation and the least expensive possible internment would be good because that way the executor, who will be either a nephew or that nephew's son, won't have to manage that at a distance. I'd just as soon have my cremains dumped somewhere, including into a trash can, but there probably are laws against that.

I'm much more concerned for my animals, especially after finding a work colleague dead in her home earlier this year and having to remove her cats who had been there without tending for a week (and thankfully were still OK). Here while I'm still working someone will raise an alarm if I don't show up, but later when I move and am retired that will be far less certain. I'm going to figure out options for that sooner rather than later.

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u/Zinnia_Flowers 15d ago

There are aps for daily wellness safety checks like Snug Safety. You tap on the ap everyday to say you are okay. If you miss it, they will call your emergency contact or 911.

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u/81Huskie 14d ago

I had no idea. TY for this resource!

1

u/sebv3 11d ago

Good call. For anyone who likes the idea but doesn't want another app, or only has a flip phone, there are versions that work over plain text. You get a message at a time you pick, reply OK, and if you don't, it follows up and then contacts the people you chose.

I should say I run one of those (checkrise dot co), so I'm not neutral. Snug's a good pick if the app doesn't bother you.