Think Ahead Pack Ireland

What the Think Ahead Pack Is

The Think Ahead pack is a free physical booklet published by the Irish Hospice Foundation. It's designed as a structured, accessible starting point for end-of-life planning — a folder you fill in gradually, covering your personal wishes, medical preferences, and practical information your family will need when you die.

Since its launch, Think Ahead has become one of the most widely recognised end-of-life planning resources in Ireland. It's available to order free of charge from the Irish Hospice Foundation's website and is often distributed through GP surgeries, hospitals, nursing homes, and community health centres.

The pack is divided into three main sections:

Part 1: My Personal Wishes. This covers non-medical preferences — funeral wishes (burial or cremation, type of ceremony, music, readings), what you'd like to happen to your personal belongings, messages for family members, and practical information about where important documents are stored.

Part 2: My Advance Healthcare Directive. This section guides you through documenting which medical treatments you would want and which you would refuse if you lose the capacity to communicate. Under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, an Advance Healthcare Directive is a legally recognised document in Ireland, provided it's properly witnessed (two witnesses, at least one of whom is not an immediate family member) and relates to specific treatment decisions.

Part 3: My Medical Summary. A record of current medical conditions, medications, allergies, GP details, and other healthcare information that would be useful to medical teams in an emergency.

What It Does Well

The Think Ahead pack excels at what it was designed to do: break the ice. For many Irish families, the hardest part of end-of-life planning is starting. The pack provides a physical object — a booklet you can sit down with over a cup of tea — that normalises the conversation and gives it structure.

Its tone is empathetic, accessible, and entirely non-commercial. There's no sales pitch, no legal jargon, and no assumption that you have any prior knowledge of estate planning or healthcare law. It meets people where they are, which is why it's been so successful as a starting point.

The Advance Healthcare Directive section is particularly valuable. It walks through the key medical scenarios — CPR, ventilation, tube feeding, dialysis — in plain language and helps the reader articulate their preferences clearly enough to create a valid legal document.

Where It Falls Short

The Think Ahead pack is a personal wishes and healthcare planning tool. It is not a comprehensive estate planning guide, and it doesn't claim to be. But this means that someone who completes the pack and considers their end-of-life planning "done" may be missing critical legal and financial steps.

It doesn't cover the EPA process. Setting up an Enduring Power of Attorney through the Decision Support Service's MyDSS portal is one of the most important — and most time-sensitive — elements of end-of-life planning in Ireland. The pack mentions EPAs in passing but doesn't walk through the registration process, the required documents (medical capacity statement, legal practitioner's statement, notice party notifications), or the €30 fee.

It doesn't address probate or Form SA.2. For families who will need to administer an estate, the Revenue Form SA.2 filing process — which must be completed online via ROS or myAccount before the Probate Office will accept an application — is often the most stressful administrative task. The pack doesn't cover this at all.

It doesn't cover Capital Acquisitions Tax planning. The 33% flat tax rate on inheritances above group thresholds, the Dwelling House Exemption requirements, and tools like Section 72 life insurance policies are significant financial planning elements that the pack doesn't address.

It doesn't cover credit union nominations. The ability to nominate a beneficiary for up to €27,000 in credit union funds — bypassing probate entirely — is a valuable planning tool that many Irish account holders don't know about. The pack doesn't mention it.

It doesn't address digital assets. In an era where most people have dozens of online accounts, subscriptions, and digital financial products, a digital legacy inventory is an important complement to the traditional paper-based end-of-life folder.

How to Build a Complete Plan Around It

The Think Ahead pack is a strong foundation. The gap is everything that sits between personal wishes and the legal-financial machinery of estate administration. A complete end-of-life plan for someone in Ireland includes:

1. A valid Will — drafted, properly witnessed, and securely stored. Review it whenever family circumstances change (marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a beneficiary). Remember that marriage automatically revokes a prior Will in Ireland unless it was made in contemplation of that specific marriage.

2. An Enduring Power of Attorney — registered with the Decision Support Service via MyDSS while the donor still has capacity. This is the single most time-sensitive document: once capacity is lost, the EPA route is permanently closed.

3. An Advance Healthcare Directive — the Think Ahead pack covers this well. Complete it, have it witnessed, and distribute copies to your GP, preferred hospital, and designated healthcare representative.

4. A financial inventory — all bank accounts, credit union accounts (with nomination status), life insurance policies, pension details, property deeds, and investment accounts. Note which accounts are held jointly and which are in sole names.

5. A digital asset inventory — every significant online account, with access instructions stored securely (not in the Will, which becomes a public document after probate).

6. Tax planning review — understanding which CAT group thresholds apply to each beneficiary, whether the Dwelling House Exemption is available, and whether a Section 72 policy is appropriate.

7. Funeral wishes — the Think Ahead pack covers this section well. Add details about any pre-paid funeral plan or specific funeral director preferences.

The Ireland End-of-Life Planning Guide is designed to complement the Think Ahead pack by covering the legal, financial, and administrative elements that the pack doesn't address. It includes step-by-step walkthroughs for the MyDSS EPA portal, Revenue Form SA.2, and the probate application process, alongside worksheets for financial and digital asset inventories.

Start with Think Ahead for the personal and healthcare elements. Then build out the legal and financial components that protect your family from administrative chaos when the time comes.

See more Ireland guides →