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Whether you are 21 or 91, there's never a wrong time to organize your personal, financial, and legal records. If you are incapacitated for any reason―or in the event of your death―quick and easy access to this information is crucial for your family and for your legal and financial advisors. If the unexpected does happen, it helps to ensure that your family and important advisors can carry on.
 Last year, Julia Nadine was diagnosed with a serious and potentially fatal health problem. Although she recovered after an extended hospital stay and convalescent period, the crisis helped her to realize the consequences of her ongoing failure to plan.
Julia is currently married to her third husband and has two children from her former marriages. At the time of her illness she had no health care directive that her family could find, no financial power of attorney, no will, and apparently no plan for her quite substantial estate. Her husband had difficulty locating important documents and accessing her online bank account and related bill-paying services. In addition, her children's preferences for her care often conflicted with her husband's decisions during her illness and strained the relationships.
Although Julia was not ready for her crisis, it wasn't because the topic of emergency preparation doesn't get discussed. A recent Wall Street Journal article, for example, covers the impact of going paperless using online banking and brokerage accounts.
The IRS, too, stresses the importance of being prepared for the unexpected. Among other recommendations, it suggests scanning important documents and backing them up on removable media that can be stored in a safe location, preferably in another city. The IRS also recommends compiling a room-by-room list of the contents of your home, including photographs and/or video documentation, and safeguarding important documents such as insurance records and home closing statements.
So, where do you start? And what should you include?
To assist you in gathering your personal, financial, and legal records, Bader Martin has prepared a Lifetime Planning Checklist. It organizes your information according to the following categories:
 Personal
Marital
Family
Employment
Military Service
Real Estate
Financial Account
Stocks/Bonds
Automobile
Titled Asset
Business
Safe Deposit Box
Insurance
Funeral and Burial
Tax
Will
Trust
Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Directive
Contacts
Miscellaneous
The checklist provides a framework for gathering and maintaining essential information over time―a sort of personal inventory. But don't let the volume of information contained in the checklist discourage you from using it. You don't have to prepare everything at once; you can take your time. And it's far better to complete even a small portion of the checklist than not to begin at all.
To use the Lifetime Planning Checklist, you can enter your information electronically in Microsoft WordŽ or enter it on a paper copy. You'll need to gather supporting hard-copy records to supplement the checklist document. If you like, Bader Martin will create a CD with your checklist and scans of all your supporting documents.
In the process of completing the checklist, you may identify elements lacking in your own financial and/or estate plan. The checklist is not intended as a substitute for professional advice in financial or estate planning. Get great advice.
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You can request an electronic or paper copy of the Lifetime Planning Checklist from your advisor at Bader Martin.
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If you have additional questions about preparing your personal and financal records for an emergency, give us a call.
We can help. |
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Chris Strand is a shareholder in the Bader Martin tax practice and directs the firm's high net worth practice.
Chris' work integrates tax strategies and financial and business consulting for affluent individuals and families, and their closely held businesses. He is also an expert in addressing the unique needs of company executives, including stock-option consulting, compensation planning, financial and estate planning, and retirement planning. Chris is well versed in real estate matters, including tax-deferred 1031 exchanges. |
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