Get Started on Your 'Last Instructions'

 Are you prepared if a loved one becomes incapacitated or dies? What if you are the one to check out? Writing for The Wall Street Journal, 10/5/20, Glenn Ruffenach explains why and how to let your family know your final wishes and how to deal with your financial affairs. 

"I assume you already have an estate plan with all the necessary documents (a will, power of attorney, etc.). If so, you can move to, first, writing down the steps your family should take if something happens to you and, second, listing all the pieces and people—assets, accounts, insurance policies, bills, debts, credit cards, passwords, bankers, lawyers and the like—that are part of your financial life."

"If you search online (example: what my family needs to know free pdf), you’ll find numerous worksheets that you can print at no cost and fill out. In particular, check out Everplans, which offers (in addition to an online planning service) more than a dozen free checklists to get you started. (At everplans.com, under Resources & Guides, search for: downloadable checklists." 

A book: “Get It Together: Organize Your Records So Your Family Won’t Have To” by Melanie Cullen with Shae Irving. "Don’t be put off by the length: more than 400 pages. The authors cover just about everything a caretaker or survivor might need to know." 

Get started today!