A dear reader, who shall remain nameless to protect her identity, commented on how easy it looked for the survivors to handle the financial and legal aspects after Linda's death.
Dear friends:
THIS WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT! Please listen up.
Linda was a tax specialist, a registered financial planner, and an attorney who did a lot of wills and trusts. She was also meticulously organized when it came to important documents.
Therefore, it was easy to find the physical folders containing what we needed, the insurance policies were in the strong box (metal), her computer files had contact information on everything and everyone, and in the last weeks of her life, Linda amended her trust and had it notarized.
It was no accident. It was all meticulously planned.
My questions to you: Do you have a will? Do you have a trust? Does the executor/trustee know that this is his/her job? Are your papers in order? Are they easily retrievable? Do people know where they are? Do you have updated contact information for insurance companies, banks, credit cards, etc.?
Carpe diem! That means "sieze the carp." Well, no, it doesn't.
It means later is not OK. Because you don't what what happens between now and "later."
(This from a woman who has neither a will nor a trust, but is actively thinking about getting them done.) Do it as a gift to the survivors.
