Can Your Loved Ones Find Your Important Documents?

Good Morning! I'm waiting on my own personal geek this morning. I got so tired of my pc shutting down and creating numerous problems, that I've bought a mac. My children have macs and have raved about how wonderful they are - no viruses, no waiting, excellent customer service, etc.

So our geek will come this morning and transfer everything over from one system to another - well worth the money, in my opinion! I imagine we could do it, but why not let someone do it who knows what he's doing? I'll keep you posted.

Now on to our topic of the day - it's really not that morbid!


Can Your Loved Ones Find Your Important Documents?

I came across a chart put out by PBS under the topic of Caring for Your Parents which listed numerous important documents and items that you should be able to locate as you care for them.

I got to thinking that each of us should have such a list in the event of our untimely death - even if young. I've heard horror stories of a person's sudden death and relatives not being able to find a will, life insurance policies, safe deposit keys, etc.
We talked about this during National Preparedness Month, but it's worth another look.

So here's the list that PBS gave, which I feel is pretty comprehensive:

Health Insurance Policies
Primary Health Insurance
Supplemental Medical Insurance
Medicare Card
Long-term Care Insurance
Disability Insurance
Life Insurance (Agent, Beneficiaries)
Funeral Insurance Policy
Financial Accounts and Valuables
Safety Deposit Box and Keys
Checking and Savings Accounts
Brokerage Accounts
Stocks and Bonds
Jewelry/Coins
Appraisals and Inventory Lists
Retirement and Benefit Plans
401k Plans
Profit Sharing/Pension Plans
IRA Accounts
Military Benefits/Records
Social Security Records
Debt
Credit Cards
Outstanding Bills/Loans
Taxes
Annual Income Tax Records
Property Tax Records

PBS's chart included a place to list items under each area as well as where they could be found, if necessary. Use their chart or make your own, but it's a wonderful thing to have in place... just in case.


Thoughts or comments? (If you receive this blog by email and want to comment, this link will take you back to my blog.)


Blogs on similar topics:
Taxes - What Documents To Keep and How Long?
National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #8 - Emergency Documents