No one wants to think about death, especially when life is full of promise. At first, you can't even imagine death. As time passes, you have jobs, families, and dreams of a perfect retirement. But disaster can happen in a heartbeat and your perfect world can be turned upside down. You may have taken steps to protect your family by creating a will to make sure your last wishes are known. However, daily life is full of information that is sometimes not contained in wills. Gathering all necessary information in one place would be a great help to your loved ones. Look at it as leaving breadcrumbs for your family to find their way through handling your estate.
Events over recent years have forced people to think of preparing for death in different ways. COVID made people of all ages realize that death could come at anytime, prompting more young people to draw up wills. Recent natural disasters have also made people look at final preparations differently. Countless families were forced to evacuate their homes with little or no time to collect valuables or important papers. Sometimes the person who knew where the documents were wasn't even home. As a result, they have had to go through long, complicated steps to recover important information while trying to build or rebuild their homes. In order to avoid this, some families are creating containers such as binders or special boxes and filling them with any important information and paperwork necessary for times of emergency or death.
Organization of these containers is important, helping family members find specific information quickly. One expert recommends this system:
Financial
- All bank information, including complete names of the account holder and all contact information;
- Credit card information, especially if you have multiple cards;
- Tax returns;
- Employment information and pension plans;
- Health and Life insurance plans;
Documents
- Living Will and trust documents;
- Power of Attorney;
- Advance Directives;
- Medical Information and Records;
- Prescription Information;
- Home Insurance paperwork;
- Pet information;
- Deeds and Titles to real estate and personal property;
Personal
- Important phone numbers – This should include emergency contacts, such as both spouses' parents, other family members, family friends, family doctors, and employers;
- Computer information – This includes passwords, usernames, and PIN numbers;
- Personal preferences – This includes end of life and funeral preferences.
Update the container regularly just as you do your will, either at set times or when your family undergoes a major event, such as a marriage or the birth of a child. Make sure everyone in your family always knows where it is and is able to get to it quickly.
Times have changed, but our love for our families hasn't. There is so much information about our daily lives they need to know that isn't necessarily found in a will. We know we can't stop the heartache, but taking the time to gather as much of that information together as possible will allow them to grieve in peace.