Financial and Other Matters - Creating a Roadmap

Assuming that you have made out a Will, you have presumably filed a copy where it can be easily found and perhaps distributed copies to your executor and/or family members. How easy would it be for your executor and survivors to locate all of your assets and supporting documentation, close accounts, settle liabilities, etc.?

In New York City, I used to park my car in a garage fifteen blocks from my apartment. The garage automatically debited the monthly parking fee from my checking account. Had I disappeared suddenly without leaving instructions, my car could potentially have sat in the garage for months bleeding money from my checking account. Below are some suggestions and tools for putting your financial and other matters in good order and making things easy for whoever has to sort out your affairs when you cannot.

What and Where Record: One of the simplest ways to provide a roadmap of your affairs for others is to create a single document that summarizes important information including personal details, important contacts, accounts, etc. Click here to download a What and Where template document that you can use and adapt to your needs. Once you create your own document, store a copy with your Will and provide copies to your executor and key family members. You should also review the document regularly and update as needed. You may also want to save it in a Dropbox or other shared folder.

End-of-Life Plan: A web search will turn up numerous sites and apps designed to help your organize your life. Cake promotes itself as the “easiest way to discover, store, and share your end-of-life preferences.” Cake’s services overlap some with GoodEnding, however, they appear to offer helpful guidance and easy to use and comprehensive end-of-life planning tools. One has to register as a user, but Cake’s offerings are currently free. However, unlike GoodEnding, Cake is not a nonprofit. They make money by promoting affiliate partners. (Note: GoodEnding has no relationship with Cake or anyone connected with their site.)

Insurance: We cover insurance extensively under Caring for Others. Click here to jump directly to that page.