The sudden and unexpected loss of a family member several years ago set the wheels in motion for a comprehensive look at how my wife and I manage our personal ābusinessā affairs. After the accidental death of one of our son-in-law, I sat down with my daughter to help her sort through the finances, as her husband had taken care of all aspects of that part of their lives. She didnāt know where to begin. We ended up spending weeks poring over every scrap of paper we could find in an effort to re-construct not only her finances but locate other important documents as well.
I imagined our āworse-case scenario,ā which for us would be the mutual demise or incapacitation of my wife and me. I shuddered at the thought of our children coming into our home and trying to sort through and piece together our affairs under those circumstances. So I took steps to be certain they would never have to deal with that. You can imagine your own worst case based on your familyās situation, and hopefully, it will never come to pass. But realistically it could.
So I developed a system that I will share with you over the next several columns, recognizing that many of you have already taken care of some, maybe all of these details, but my experience sharing this with others tells me many people havenāt. If you decide to put a plan like this into action, your children, heir(s) and/or executor(s) will thank you profusely. Be mindful this will take some time to organize and assemble and will need periodic āmaintenanceā or updating as things change. Nonetheless it will be well worth your time. If you decide to go forward, remember that this has nothing to do with your will; this is about everything that is not in that document.
The system is designed to be a āRoadmapā for executors or heirs to follow, allowing them to locate all vital information within or outside the home. We started with three simple āGoldenā rules: 1) write everything down in detail, 2) start a three-ring binder or well-organized folder to keep the details in, 3) be certain your executor/heirs know where this binder or folder can be found.
STEP ONE: Prepare a written list of where all important documents are located, which room, which drawer, or which cabinet. It is better to consolidate all of these into one location if that works, as it does for us. The list should include where to find your will, your seven most recent tax returns, passports, birth certificates, certificates of baptism, titles to automobiles, all insurance policies, tax deductible receipts for the current year, where you keep the bills that are due to be paid, the deed to your home, and the title insurance policy. If you have a safe deposit box, note which bank is it at and what are the contents, where are the warranties for products or appliances you have purchased, are there pre-paid maintenance plans in place and where are those documents.
We will continue with step two in our next column.
Questions or comments, email tsansom2002@gmail.com.
