Taxation & Estate Planning

Facebook and "My Own Last Wishes"

By Joel A. Schoenmeyer

I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook lately, as my classmates and I reconnect and make plans for the (gulp) 20th reunion of the Marshall (Michigan) High School Class of 1988, this summer or fall.

As you may know, Facebook allows you to add applications to your profile page -- for photos, music, something called SuperPoke (don't ask), etc. Anyway, one of the applications is something called "My Own Last Wishes." Here's how it is described by its creators:

If you died tomorrow, would your family or friends know what your own last wishes would be? Would they know if you wanted to be an organ donor or what to do with your beloved pet? Would they know whether you wanted to be cremated and your ashes scattered on your favorite hiking trail or if you wanted to be buried dressed as Elvis, along with your prized bowling trophy, and accompanied to your gravesite to the strains of ?Blue Hawaii??

?My Own Last Wishes? lets you give your family and friends a roadmap for your final journey and more.

I know that "My Own Last Wishes" is really just like any other application -- it's intended to waste a bit of time on the internet. But you can probably see the problem with this, can't you?

-Very few Americans have a Will. Presumably (hopefully) they understand that they need one, and that "My Own Last Wishes" is not a substitute for one. This doesn't create a legally-binding document.

-I also question whether "My Own Last Wishes" can even do what it says it's trying to do: "give your family and friends a roadmap for your final journey and more." How does your family know that you are on Facebook? Or know how to access your account? Or know that Facebook is where you listed your last wishes? And will they find all of this out soon enough after your death to cremate you, or bury you like Elvis?

Full post as published by Death and Taxes Blog on March 09, 2008 (boomark / email).