L ast Orders is a book with a difference, and not what I expected when I was asked to conduct this review, which just goes to show you shouldn’t judge a book either by its cover or its title. This is not to say that I was disappointed, in fact, quite the reverse.

When my elderly cousin died a few weeks ago, we and his closer family had been prepared for his passing and he, in turn, had briefed his widow in terms of his will and other last wishes. However, there were many things that had not been covered, especially relating to financial information, etc. and were a bit of a struggle at the time.

Prompted by the author’s own experiences during illness and then the death of two dear friends, the book is a comprehensive and practical guide/checklist for those of us who have not faced up to our eventual demise and who wish to assist those closest to us as well as our executors.

In the introduction, entitled ‘Good Willing’, Patricia Byron emphasises that the book is not a legally binding document and stresses the importance of making a will in order to ensure that your estate is distributed in accordance with your wishes. The book should make the task of the executor(s) that much easier and ease the emotional burden of loved ones by addressing the myriad issues that must be attended to following a death. This introductory chapter also contains some sound suggestions and advice for anyone contemplating making a will, which as the author recommends should be reviewed periodically along with any Letter of Wishes. The entire introduction is available to read on the book's website at http://www.lastorders.org/Excerpt.html

From registering the death, to funeral arrangements, burial or cremation, organ donation, dealing with money matters and other assets, children, pets everything is covered in the book as far as I can make out. The detailed guidelines and checklists represent an indispensible aid to anyone who has to tackle the affairs of a loved one especially at a time of grief. For the executor, it will be a tremendous time saving exercise with details of financial assets and obligations, utilities and related matters all recorded in one place together with location of paperwork, etc.

Packed into the 12 chapters and 73 pages of this publication are 100 questions, which may seem a formidable task to address, and of course it does bring into focus one’s mortality and the inevitability of death. But this very well thought out book brings a sense of order to things and will definitely assist in covering most of the basic points that should be considered by those wishing to make their passing as stress-free as possible for those left behind. As mentioned above, it is always wise to make a will and prepare a Letter of Wishes, both of which should be the subject of regular review. In the latter case, I can see that there may well be a significant number of changes that might be made as assets and circumstances change (reference the ‘Money Matters’ chapter in particular). I am sure the author of this well thought out book has considered this.