PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE BY LESBIAN AND GAY ADULTS AGE 50 AND OVER

Preparing legal documents and planning for death are ways that older adults can assert agency over their lives. This presentation examines cross-sectional interview data from Aging with Pride: The National Health, Aging, Sexuality and Gender Study (n = 56) and addresses how lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults age 50 and over discuss later life planning, including Advanced Directives (AD) and wills. The work also analyzes participants’ discussions of their desires for a “good death” and hopes of asserting control over their deaths. Theoretically, the work engages queer theory concepts of failure and critiques of “successful aging” in order to understand how LGB older adults approach legal and financial plans for the end of life. Findings suggest that coupled participants consider partners’ perceived needs when preparing documents and uncoupled participants with small social networks lack an AD or will because there is no clear individual to make decisions for them.