First suggestion, pick one or both of these forms and fill out with your people. Right meow!

Appointment of Agent Form with Witnesses                                   Appointment of Agent Form with Notary

OK, now that is done- Why the urgency? If you do not have a document like this, or you are not married to your partner as seen by law in the state you live in (even if you are, rights are threatened daily, I still say have this on hand).

I am currently crafting another document with pronoun selection added and dead/legal name allocation for the form. It will be updated to the provided links when available. In the meantime, use your legal name for this to be recognized as a legal document.

You can update your document anytime, and email it to your people. This ensures everyone that must be in the know when you die have documents to ensure you are respected and cared for in the manner you deem desirable.

Forms like this are vital for those people who are separated from legal next of kin by choice. Appointment of a funeral agent trumps the normal next-of-kin rules as outlined by the state you live in (spouse, children, parents, living relatives, etc....). Appointed Agents can be anyone: executors of estates, your spouse, one of your children, a parent, another relative, or a friend with whom you trust to carry out your funeral wishes.

Those who may want to consider delegating an Appointed Agent are people who think their relatives may not honor their funeral wishes or pre-arrangements. Also, if a state's law outlines the next-of-kin as multiple people with a requirement that all agree, this may cause a conflict in decision making. In these scenarios, it is sometimes best to appoint just one person to override the state's policy.

Others who would benefit from appointing a designated Appointed Agent are: people who may be estranged from their spouse or next-of-kin, or do not know where the living relatives are located, or those who do not have any living relatives.