In case you have not been following along, each month I have been addressing various topics that have to do with estate planning (see the “Related Links” section below to see the previous posts in this series.) These blog posts originated after we created our digital estate organizer which tackles this broad and often times overwhelming topic.
In an attempt to lessen the stress that can come when one begins to sift through and sort out the components that make up an estate, I have been tackling one section of our organizer at a time to help you get started.
Today I want to focus on your estate planning – a specific contact list that should be included with your files. Whether we like to think about it or not, someday when we pass, there is a list of people who need to be, or whom we would like to have notified first. This may seem as simple as family, friends and potentially the companies in the aforementioned blog posts tied to our organizer. But, that list may be longer than we think.
Our organizer gives space for your family, friends, doctors, employer, clergy, insurance agents, attorney, financial advisor, and accountant/tax preparer. This section also lists the person who has been authorized to act as your health care agent, medical power of attorney, or durable power of attorney. Be sure to include, at the very least, the name, relationship, phone number, address and email of each person or entity that should be notified.
There are several places where contact information for important people in your life should already be listed. For example, when you are gathering your insurance policy information, you probably filed away the phone number and address for your insurance company along with it. But by creating a list that is specific to people or places where an actionable step is needed upon your passing, it is beneficial for your heirs to know exactly where and with whom to start. You are taking the guess work out of this process when you put together your estate planning contact list.
When you make the important decision to begin the process of estate planning, call us to receive a free USB drive with our fillable PDF organizer pre-loaded.
Until next time, cheers!
Jim