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ALL TOO often I come across situations when families are faced with unnecessary heart ache at a difficult stage in their lives because their loved one has not expressed their advanced care wishes or put in place a lasting power of attorney or will.

None of us know what the future holds. That is why we encourage everyone, regardless of their age or health, to consider taking a number of practical steps. Doing this when you are able to can give you confidence that your wishes are documented so people close to you know what you would want.

It is not easy to do but the first step is to find the right time to talk about death with those close to you and express your future care needs.

Sometimes family and friends are reluctant to have these conversations. It could be that they don’t want to think about your death or don’t really know how to talk about the issue.

It might help the situation if you tell them it would help you to talk. If they are still reluctant, try telling them they don’t have to talk about it now, but it is something you would like to discuss at some point. You then need to find the right time to address this again with them.

Only one in 10 of us talk to family and friends about where we would like to die. This often results in people spending the last moments of their life in hospital, which would not necessarily be their first choice. Developing an advance care plan will enable you to express what you want for your future care, where you want to be cared for and by whom. This plan can change at any time and is not a legally binding document.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legally binding document that protects your assets by asking someone of your choice to deal with your affairs on your behalf.

If you lose mental capacity and you do not have an LPA, then the Court of Protection takes control,