What’s In Your Fire-Proof, Water-Tight Safe?
As a mom and small business owner, I’ve spent a lot of time consulting with professionals on how best to protect my family and our business interests in case of any kind of emergency: flood, tornado, earthquake, death, catastrophic illness or injury; evaluating what we have now, what will we need to cover risk and how to organize things to make our assets the least vulnerable.
My mother passed away in 2007 and I helped a grieving father walk through numerous steps to settle insurance claims for a mountain of medical expenses as well as a large amount of unexpected credit card debt. While they had planned some for what life after retirement might look like, they didn’t expect a death less than one year into it. Thankfully, she had insured her risk well enough to leave my dad some funds after it was all settled. Then, after my father passed away in 2012, I realized the value in the lessons of helping settle mom’s estate as well as the one key phrase that I would take to heart: I didn’t know what I didn’t know. It seemed like every turn there was a new hurdle. Josh and I were separated by one thousand miles for more than 10 months while I managed to clean up all the things enough that I could settle the rest of it from Florida. After that I vowed that neither Josh, I nor any children would ever have to live through that kind of burden again. I have reviewed my list and gathered a few new things to create this series of blogs, so I can share with you the best information and insights that I’ve collected in protecting my family.
The hard truth is that picking the person to manage a family estate may be the easiest part of preparing the family for the future. (See more thoughts here). The next step is making sure that documentation is prepared and that the beneficiaries have access to all the items they need to carry out your wishes and file the estate with the courts in a timely manner. This is critical to a timely and smooth transition. This list is simply to get your started; every household is different. Make sure that you talk to your attorney, accountant, banker, investment advisor and insurance agent to see what they recommend.
PRO PLANNING TIP FROM STEF:
Place the following things together in a fire-proof and water-tight safe. Show this to the person handling your estate and your beneficiaries, then leave the documents in an agreed-upon place. ONLY MOVE THE DOCUMENTS to review or replace with updates.
OF ALL THE TIPS I COULD PICK, WHY THIS ONE?
Thanks to a cousin that arrived in July and said “get in my car, I’m taking you home”, I got a whole month with my dad the summer before he died. Some serious medical events happened while I was there that encouraged some significant discussion about his will, documents and what needed to be done. While I was there for the month, we had the discussion of “I know I need a safe, but I haven’t bought one. So I’m putting all the important papers in THIS drawer.” Dad had pointed at it. I watched the papers go in the drawer. Great. An agreed spot. Excellent!
Then things progress, he passes and I arrive to make arrangements…but the drawer was empty! No documents. Nothing.
I managed to make funeral arrangements on a will and prayer. Then I set up an appointment with a reputable attorney in the area - but I still didn’t have the will. I LOOKED EVERYWHERE. LITERALLY! Three weeks later, at midnight before I’m to go meet the attorney I find the will; In the last stack, in a piled high desk, not in the room we had agreed on. Sweating bullets doesn’t begin to cover the anxiety I felt of “what if I have to prove this in court?” or “Now what?” or all 10 million things running through my head. I know my dad well enough to know that he had the very best of intentions and I could even bet that I know why he did it. This one single event cost me time and anxiety. So Tip #1 agree on a spot & leave it.
STEF’S SAFE CHECKLIST
Will and Trust Documents (Originals if possible, Copies with card for attorney of record)
Any and All deeds and titles
Any and All important permits and licenses (pets, firearms, etc)
A photocopy of valid driver’s license for every driver
A photocopy and the original for each person:
Social Security Card,
Passports,
Marriage licenses,
Divorce decrees,
Parent’s birth and death (if applicable) certificates.
A photocopy and the original:
Living Will,
Healthcare surrogate or Medical Power of Attorney,
Durable Power of Attorney
Include a Power of Attorney for each child and pet - if they break an arm the day after parents are lost in an accident - they still need access to medical care before the will is validated by the court
Business card for attorney of record
A printed copy of ALL insurance policies - update every year or renewal
Tax Returns
Last 3 Years with documentation including receipts (if available)
An additional 4 years of just the returns
A business card for your accountant.
An Annual Credit Report from all 3 bureaus for each person - update every year
Photocopies of every credit card - front and back
A Written Copy of all logins and passwords to any online accounts and files include:
Any pin numbers including cell phone,
Social security and pension accounts
Utilities and household accounts
Bank and Credit Cards
Online Storage and Cloud Accounts
Notes on accounts that have recurring charges to any account
Basic Medical Information and Records including:
Blood type
List of medications as well as allergies
Surgery and procedure history
Any diagnoses
If chronic or critically ill, maybe consider a medical journal to track changes in vital stats as well as medications
A letter listing any and all:
Funeral arrangements, preferences or
Bequests,
Asset designations or
Donations to be made on your behalf;
Include information for any attorney of record.
Consider placing small heirloom items (jewelry, paper, photos) that cannot be replaced in the safe as well as listing them in the letter.
Consider a personal thank you note with a heartfelt gift, gift card or a token of gratitude.
Information on any and all Safety Deposit Boxes including location, key and who is able to enter on death
A list of any and all bank accounts include information if accounts are transferrable on death or list beneficiary and a business card for your banker.
NOTE: Some joint accounts (bank, credit card, etc) may not be available even to spouses or beneficiaries until all probate is finalized. Do you have separate accounts with enough in them to manage finances for 12-18 months?
Documents and information on any investments including:
Any and ALL Bonds, Savings Bonds, Municipal Bonds,
Any and ALL Certificates of Deposit
Stock Certificates and
Corporate documents and information for any investments and
A business card for any investment brokers or fund managers.
CASH
It’s never known how long your beneficiaries may be locked out of your accounts (could be up to 90-120 days) and what expenses will come up in the mean time. Operating Cash is always critical.
Now that your items are together, it is ideal to review everything from a 50,000 foot view and see where some gaps may leave your vulnerable. Come back for Next Week’s Blog for a complete discussion on the TOP 3 MOST UNDERRATED AND OVERLOOKED RISKS!
Feel free to print out this web page as a checklist if you find it helpful or to leave me a comment! I’d love to know what surprised you about this list or what you would add to it.
