Westminster Confessions

… because the Wise will already know all this. Most of these comments are in response to having to deal with the estate of my aunt, who recently died.

(This is semi-tongue in cheek in tone, so beware. Remember, I am almost entering the fourth week of exile from my husband and new home and STILL waiting for the baby, but I wanted to write about something else. The comments, however, are quite serious.)

If you are still alive, please:

1. Carry in your wallet a piece of paper with someone to get in contact with if you fall, get hurt (or die) and cannot identify yourself. Include any medical information that may be necessary. I have now been tracked down TWICE for relatives who have had this happen to them. The first time, the police found me through a torn piece of return address on an envelope, and the second time through a websearch from a note in an address book.
2. Make a list (and keep it in your desk or home where someone can find it) of all your bank accounts, the numbers, and the location of the banks– a phone number would be absolutely terrific. Update this every so often . Include on the list other financial assets and where to find any records of that. List any life insurance policies you have and how to get in touch with the company or agent. Include on this same piece of paper your full name, your date of birth, where you were born, your parents full names, their dates of births (and deaths if applicable). We had to prove that my grandfather was dead and buried somewhere other than the family plot in order for my aunt to be buried there. Try doing that with no records! (We finally found an old clipping of an obituary that listed the necessary details, but it was from 1944. That’s pretty amazing that the clipping was still around!) You should also list major debts (loans, mortgages, credit accounts, etc).
3. Make sure that you have a person (parent, spouse, sibling) listed with the insurance companies (health, life, anything really) as someone having permission to know about and discuss the file. Do you know how absolutely crazy it is to be told that the only person the company can talk to is the person who is now dead??? On a less dramatic note, I was unable to make change of address updates for some of our own accounts because the account was solely in Mark’s name. The best way to be protected is to have a power of attorney arranged (there are lots of ways to handle this, talk to someone!).
4. Have a will (please!). Even if it is a piece of paper with your desires written down, witnessed by two people and notarized. You cannot imagine how much grief you will save people. Don’t put this off.
5. If you have an old and potentially eccentric relative, do them a favor and try to become involved in their financial life (I’m really serious about this one).

I’m sure the list could go on… but then you would never read it all. So, please, get out that piece of paper for your wallet and start writing!!!

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 15th, 2004 at 10:53 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.