Freelance educator G. Kethlyn Gayatiri and her mother Irene Koh are looking forward to their day out shopping – for caskets.

“When my father passed away, it was an immensely stressful time,” said the 32-year-old, who is of Indian-Chinese parentage. Many decisions, which were often beyond their control, were made quickly.

Madam Irene Koh (left) talking to her daughter G. Kethlyn Gayatiri about the possibility of using filters to enhance her portrait on a funeral hall LED screen like the ones in Woodlands Memorial.

In the second episode of The Straits Times’ docuseries Let’s Talk About Death, Ms Kethlyn and her mum learn more about end-of-life preparations. Madam Koh, 64, goes on a journey to select her own casket, find out options for handling her remains, and decide who her caregiver would be in her last days.

The mother-daughter pair find themselves delighted at discovering an eco-friendly plywood casket shaped like a sampan at Serenity Casket and Funerals. Madam Koh is amused at the idea that she can choose to be sent off in a custom limousine by Maserati, an Italian luxury vehicle maker known for their sports cars.

Next, they head to Woodlands Memorial, a trendsetting columbarium opened in 2023 that resembles a hotel.

At the end of their journey, Ms Kethlyn finds out her mother’s preferences for legacy planning, which involves decisions for financial estate distribution, palliative care and funeral matters. Recording these instructions will help ensure her mother’s wishes will be fulfilled.

Together, they learn how to fill out and submit the lasting power of attorney (LPA) and advance care plan (ACP) forms online. The LPA is a legal document that allows a person to appoint one or more persons to make decisions on her or his behalf if she or he loses mental capacity one day, while the ACP states someone’s future healthcare preferences, but is non-legally binding.

For Ms Kethlyn, observing her mother throughout this journey – from choosing a casket “as if she were choosing a new bed” to putting her wishes in writing – reassured her that a conversation about end-of-life planning would be easier when the time comes.

She believes her experience with her mother can encourage families to start thinking about it with their loved ones.

“It will help prevent any form of conflict from arising because right now, you are the one choosing what you want,” she says.

Let’s Talk About Death is a five-episode docuseries that follows several millennials and their loved ones as they navigate end-of-life planning, and it starts honest conversations about death and dying well.