Before I Die

 

Amy and I are old enough to have kids in college and young enough to have living parents. The thing about time is that it's undefeated, and the thing about life is that you never know when it is abruptly taken from you. However morbid a thought that is, think of how much you would be compounding your loved ones' grief if you didn't have your affairs in order for them to live on in your absence without the extra aggravation of not knowing what's going on financially and administratively.

For me, check-ins with my estate attorney and my financial advisor earlier this year, reinforced the need for me to take responsibility in these ways, so I took the time earlier this year to update important legal documents like will, living will, and power of attorney. Also, in the midst of doing my taxes this year I spent a little extra time during my personal annual financial review to make a "before I die" cheat sheet for Amy and the kids. 

In case you're wondering what goes into this literal reference binder that is securely stored in the safe in our house, here's a partial list:

* Description, account numbers, and website/password of every financial holding (checking/saving, credit card, college, retirement, investment)

* House info: tax parcel info, utilities account#/passwords, insurance, contractors

* Car info: VIN, insurance, mechanic

* Logins for all emails and socials

* Given that we own rental properties, reference info and instructions for each (e.g. property management, unit management, utilities/HOA/HOI, contractors, when to do what)

* Given that I do the taxes in our household, instructions on what forms need to be printed out and assembled, how to handle various revenues and expenditures, and what and where we need to file

Before you die - which hopefully for me and you is many years in the future! - I encourage you to do right by your loved ones and compile the same info for their reference.