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My father became acutely ill with ARDS from inhaling ash from the Fall 2003 fires in San Diego county on Thanksgiving. Off to the San Diego Naval Hospital where he was treated until he died on Dec 17, 2003. We were fortunate to have little financial impact. Mom's health failed in April 2011 from congestive heart failure. She was unable to return to her home and pets. My sister euthanized one dog. I took the other to Idaho to live with my "pack". Mom was moved to assisted living where every penny of her social security income plus $1,000 from her checking account was demanded monthly...over $5,000 per month. That persisted until she was informed that her "wet" lungs were due to cancer in both lungs. My sister canceled all doctor's appointments and summoned hospice. She was returned to her room at assisted living where hospice dutifully overdosed her on morphine (she wasn't in any pain) to hurry her to the cemetery. She lasted a week.

My mom left her house and checking account. There was some inheritance. My sister paid me half the value of the house and half the checking account...less some extra money for her "trouble".

I'll turn 70 in August if the ampullary cancer doesn't have a recurrence. I sincerely doubt that I will have any lingering existence. It's fairly brutal over a short period of a few weeks. My wife will have my social security and IRA as a resource to live. She is 67 and has already beaten the family historical record of a max age of 59 going back 4 generations. My sons will have a couple houses, remains of my IRA, lots of motorcycles, a house of "stuff". We have 5 dogs and a cat...hopefully we outlive all over them. My sons are far away. I hear from them occasionally. My middle son turned 43 today. The only burden I expect to leave behind is a house full of "stuff" that my sons will need to sort out.

A note in passing. I paid for a room at the home of a couple brothers in San Diego while working a contract far from home in Idaho. The older brother was on dialysis care of MediCal. He was about 66. He died while I was paying for a room (my rent money went straight to Starbucks for his amusement). Upon his death, MediCal came to clawback all the money spent for his care since age 55. It was an enormous bill. The house was an inheritance to the children of the family. The money demanded by MediCal was far more than the loose cash held by the surviving children. The solution was to sell the house. I moved home to Idaho. The house was sold for a good sum. Money was paid to MediCal and the balance was split among the surviving children. All of them became renters living on their retirement resources. The MediCal/Medicaid monster lurks waiting to pounce on the resources of the low income users who pass.