We have mentioned many times our Life Choices publication, which walks you through the critical end-of-life decisions you need to make now while you're healthy. These include funeral plans, advance directives, durable power of attorney, wills and organ donation, just to name a few.

And this is not just for senior citizens - it's for anyone over 18. Any of us could be injured and unable to speak at any time - so it would be helpful for our healthcare providers and loved ones to know what our wishes are.

This Friday in Jefferson City is the annual End-of-Life Summit, put on by the Missouri End-of-Life coalition, AG Nixon and others. These folks are dedicated to encouraging Missourians make those critical decisions mentioned above. They also examine the quality of end-of-life care in our state and do what they can to improve it. That includes things like long-term care, hospice and other services that are provided to people in their final days, weeks and months.

A new Missouri law gives you more control over what is done with your body after your death. Do you want to be buried, cremated, body donated to science? The authority to make this decision is known in legalese as "right of sepulcher."

We have written before about the importance of naming a durable power of attorney (DPA). A DPA, or agent, is someone you name in a legal document to make medical decisions for you if can't speak for yourself. Under this new state law, the DPA has one additional power: right of sepulcher.

In the past, next-of-kin had the final say on this issue. So, in the past, if you chose cremation, your family could overrule you and your DPA and choose something else. But now your DPA will have the final say - so be sure to tell your DPA what you want.

For a complete look at end-of-life choices, check out AG Nixon's Life Choices publication. We've now given out more than 140,000 hard copies of this. That doesn't include the ones downloaded as PDFs.

AG Nixon has long been an advocate of making end-of-life decisions now while you're able, and a new Missouri law gives you more power to do that. You now have control over what happens to your organs and tissues after your death. In the past, your survivors had the final say. Even if you marked the back of your driver's license or joined the Missouri Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, your survivors could still overrule your wishes. No more.

Under the law, if you indicate your wishes to donate (or not to donate) body parts, those wishes must be honored. You can do this through your advance directive or by enrolling in the Donor Registry, maintained by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

To get started with all this, check out our publication Life Choices (see image).  This will walk you through all the end-of-life decisions you need to make - including wills, funeral plans and naming a durable power of attorney.

In Missouri and across the country, those planning a funeral have the right to buy a casket anywhere they choose. When a loved one dies and you enlist the services of a funeral home, you will see an assortment of caskets to choose from. But you don't have to buy from there.

Federal law says you have the right to buy a casket from a vendor or store of your choosing, and the funeral home handling your service can't charge you extra to handle that casket.

You have a number other rights when dealing with a funeral home, and the FTC has this summary of your rights.

Today, April 16th, is National Healthcare Decisions Day, when you are encouraged to a) decide what kind of medical care you would want if you can't speak for yourself, b) talk to your loved ones about it and c) put your wishes writing in the form of advance directives.

AG Nixon has a free publication, Life Choices, that can help you get that process started. It contains all the legal forms you need to complete your advance directive - including the durable power of attorney. That document allows you to name an agent (doesn't have to be a lawyer, despite the name) to make decisions for you if you're incapacitated. Our office partnered with the Missouri End-of-Life Coalition to publish Life Choices.

And if you're thinking this is an issue for seniors, think again. Everybody 18 or older needs this done. Any of us could be critically injured tomorrow and unable to speak for ourselves. Think of the three most famous people without advance directives who needed them - Nancy Cruzan, Christine Busalacchi and most recently Terri Schiavo. All three were young women at the time of their injuries. If they have put their wishes in writing before their injuries, there's a good chance those epic battles could have been avoided.

One final note: While Missouri has a living will statute, most experts in this field consider the advance directive and durable power of attorney to be much more powerful documents, legally speaking. That's why we don't even include the living will in the document packet in Life Choices.

We've blogged on this topic in the past, covering paying in advance for funeral services.

AARP magazine has a big story in the January-February edition with examples of scams and other problems that face consumers who have bought pre-paid, or pre-need, funerals.

And there's news out of Illinois that people who have pre-paid for their funerals may have trouble accessing that money because the fund is running low.

AG Nixon filed a series of lawsuits in 2005 against companies in the bereavement industry for similar problems with pre-paid services. At least one of the funeral home owners we targeted is serving prison time.

You can file consumer complaints on this topic with our office or with the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors.

Make no mistake - planning now for your funeral service is a great idea. It should be part of your end-of-life plans, regardless of your age. Find out more about the decisions we all need to make in our publication Life Choices.

You may have heard of this product - relatively new - designed to provide spending money based on home equity. Seniors over 62 are generally eligible for a reverse mortgage.

Here's how it differs from a home-equity loan:

With a home-equity loan, you get a lump sum up front, and you pay it back monthly, like any other loan. With a reverse mortgage, you get either a lump sum, or you can get paid monthly. Then you don't have to pay it back until you die or move. You may be wondering, how do I pay it back if I die? The answer is, it comes out of the sale of your house, or it reduces the value of your estate. So if you plan to leave money or property to your heirs, take that into consideration. That effect on the estate is one of the downsides. The other is much higher fees and closing costs.

Bankrate.com has a nice Reverse Mortgage 101. And USA Today covered the topic recently with stories from people who took out or considered reverse mortgages. To determine if this is right for you, talk to your financial advisor. There are also scams out there. The Florida Attorney General put out this warning recently.