Planning for the Future
From: Lee
My Dad died in 2000 and my Grandmother died in 2002. After pressing through the mourning process in both instances, I had to track down insurance policies, make inventory lists, empty lockboxes, write letters to heirs, appear in court, smooth over family disputes, and handle many other responsibilities. In doing so, I was faced with the reality that I hadn't made the necessary preparations for my own death.
As a single person, I always thought that estate planning was something I would do if/when I got married, but after dealing with both funerals and subsequent estates, I felt totally irresponsible. All sorts of questions ran through my mind: Did anybody even know that I have life insurance? If so, would they know where to find my policy? Did anybody know where I kept the deed to my house? Did anybody know which bank my lockbox was located in? Would they have access if I died? I didn’t have a Will, so what would happen to my belongings?
I needed to take action, so I made a list of things to do:
1. Add somebody to my lockbox account. I did that immediately and informed the person of my choosing that in the coming weeks I would put all of my important paperwork in the box—including my life insurance policy, the deed to my house, and anything else I could think of that the person would need if something happened to me. I also provided the person with a key to the lockbox.
2. Find my insurance policies and other important paperwork. I knew I filed them away somewhere. You know how that goes. I found the documents all over the place—in closets, the basement, unsorted piles of paperwork, and yes, a couple were actually in my filing cabinet. It felt good to finally have all of them in one place. But before I took them to the bank and stored them in my lock box, I double-checked the beneficiaries.
3. Double-check beneficiaries. I was surprised to find that in one instance, I hadn't even designated a beneficiary. I immediately made the change and got a copy of the paperwork showing the change. In another instance, I realized that, although the person of my choosing was the official beneficiary, I didn't have any paperwork to prove it. So, I e-mailed my financial planner and he sent me the proper paperwork showing my declared beneficiary. Once I had all of this handled, I placed all of these documents into my lockbox.
4. Write a letter to my personal representative. In the letter, I told the person where my pictures are stored, where I keep my checkbook, and all sorts of other facts—including a list of companies my PR would need to notify in case of my death. Recently, I updated this letter and I included a list of my online usernames and passwords. I stored this letter on top of everything else in my lockbox so my PR would be sure to find it if/when the time comes.
5. Have a Will drawn up. After going through the probate process with my grandmother's estate, I knew I needed to have a Will. The process was difficult enough with a Will in place. I can't imagine what it would have been like for her heirs without a Will. So having a Will is next on my list to check off. And guess where I’ll put it when it’s done?
Getting all of my affairs in order has eased my mind. I have done everything I can do to make things easier for my loved ones if something does happen to me and equally importantly, I haven't burdened anybody with a funeral bill or with the stress of trying to find paperwork after I'm gone.
How about you? Where are you on your journey to get your affairs in order? If you're at the beginning of your journey, that's okay. The important thing is to get started. The more you get done, the more at ease your mind will be.