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 Where do you file your important papers and information?
If you’re like most of us, our information is scattered among the following places;
We’ve compiled a list of the top reasons why those choices may be outdated. File Box / File Cabinet
Here are some other places that may be good options with their pitfalls: Store with Attorney or Family Member
What is the safest, most accessible way to store and access information? Through companies like My Life and Wishes. This is a burgeoning industry, opening our eyes to how much of our lives are integrated with technology. We have so many passwords and websites to keep track of – and they are every-changing. It’s becoming critical to keep a list handy to update access information. So be aware of the pitfalls and outdated ways to store information. Let My Life and Wishes help you get organized and keep track of all the access points for your digital life. Click here to start your free trial today!
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 Following my own personal experience with the death of a loved one, I developed this term:
Death Etiquette® It is being thoughtfully prepared for one’s own passing. Making things easier for family and loved ones by leaving clear and concise instructions. Everything from information about your final wishes, for funeral desires, as well as the location of how to access important documents, accounts and your digital life. Further, identifying who should be responsible for carrying out your final wishes. And ultimately, settling all the final affairs. Save your family from the massive scavenger hunt for needed information! Unfortunately, this plagues far too many families. It is unnecessary and totally avoidable. It is also important to see an Estate Planning Attorney. They will prepare the needed legal documents we all should have. Wills, Advance Directives, POA’s and so much more. Then be sure to store and secure these documents. Along with the aforementioned items, so family can access them when the time comes! My Life and Wishes is the simple, safe and secure way to organize and store all this critical information. This simple act of planning will save your loved ones, Stress, Time and Money. The things which divide families.  For most of us, we’ve seen our health insurance deductibles rise dramatically over the last decade. We now pay thousands of dollars in deductible– and that’s before any of the insurance kicks in!
But there are things that can help. We’ve put together a list of products to help cover those high deductible costs. First, if you have a qualified high deductible health plan, you should use an HSA (Health Savings Account). This allows you to put money away (TAX FREE) to pay for your deductibles. Check with your insurance advisor or accountant to see if this is an option for you.Here are some additional solutions: Disability Insurance
So, as you consider your health insurance options – premiums vs. deductibles, know that there are other pieces that can play into your decision. Many times, employers offer these types of coverage at the workplace. If not, contact an insurance company or insurance professional for help.  Keep or Shred? Today, we are taking a deeper dive into what you should keep and for how long. We’ll also give you suggestions on where to store documents, and when they are no longer needed, how to get rid of them. The most important documents are those we should keep forever. You may wish to keep more, but generally, these are the types of things we should hang onto forever;
Jean Chatzky also published a helpful guide by document type. You can reference that by clicking here>> With this information, you can determine what records you need to hang on to and for how long. But what do you do with the documents you want to get rid of? That depends on what information is included on the documents you want to destroy. As a general rule, shred any document that has account numbers, passwords or pins. Also, shred anything with personal information such as your name and date of birth or social security number.Some examples of documents that should be shredded;
A great solution to digitally store all your important documents and information is My Life and Wishes digital platform. With 24/7 access, this may be the solution for you! Check it out here!>>  Wills are one of those things in life that everyone knows they need, yet seem to hate or avoid making. When you make your Will, you are giving your family and loved ones a gift. Your Will ensures that your loved ones can grieve in peace rather than argue, litigate, or resent each other over the details of your estate once you’re gone.
The top 7 benefits of having a Will include:
 My hope for this book is that anyone who picks it up and reads it will be entertained, enlightened and will see the important reality of planning ahead for the love of their family. Further, that it really is much easier than one might think and it really isn’t a downer to be thoughtfully prepared for our own, ultimate mortality. Heck, we all know we aren’t going to live, forever right? We also don’t know when our last day will be, right? So, if we all agree on those two things, then isn’t being prepared the responsible thing to do? Why? For love, that’s why!
Let’s face it, death isn’t hard on the one who has died, it is hard on those that are still here! We love them and we certainly don’t want to add to their pain. Sadness, grief and loneliness are very hard yet, normal emotions and are part of the healing process. The confusion, stress and frankly anger associated with trying to track down all the departed persons “stuff” from insurance policies, financial records and then close their entire digital life, are not (normal emotions)! So many families are left to struggle with trying to piece things together following the loss of a loved one, only because the departed never planned and told someone what to do! The consequences of this lack of planning delays the normal grieving and healing process, can be exhaustively time consuming and all too often can divide families. Certainly, not what I want my own passing to do to my family. So, I have planned because I love them and I want things to be as easy as possible when I am no longer here. And, you can too! As I said earlier, it really isn’t difficult to do. So, for the love of family, please do it! Want a copy of my new book? Click here!  How many times have you stumbled across the Facebook page of a friend who passed away months, even years ago? Social media has transformed our lives – and added a whole new challenge to our deaths.
Not only do simple things like Facebook pose a challenge, but today our lives are increasingly digital. Everything from where we receive our news to how we shop involves a username and password or an account. . .. all only known by you. How are your loved ones supposed to sort this out after you are gone? Without giving away any secured information, we have the solution. My Life & Wishes is set up to securely store as little or as much information as you want on the site so in one click, your family members can access your social media sites, find your auto payments, your online passwords and every account you have online. Sound scary? It is not. You bank online now. You buy things online now. You post online now. These are all secure sites that are equal to the security of My Life & Wishes. By getting your digital house in order on your totally private and personalized account, your family will thank you each and every day for leaving this valuable gift behind. Instead of months of work, they will have instant access to all of your accounts. One can rarely even do that with a paper file box of records. Think about it: The number of your social media and other online accounts is always growing. Your online account inventory may include some of the following. Be sure to list user names, passwords, and PIN numbers for each of your accounts.
You can determine how all of this is handled. That’s the beauty of opening an account at My Life & Wishes. Don’t leave your loved ones with a mess to untangle. Hunting and digging for information is no fun. Get your digital house in order today. Your family will thank you. I think like most people, my wife, Michelle, and I really hadn’t given much, if any, thought to what would happen if one of us, or another family member passed away. On Labor Day 2013 that all changed for us when Michelle’s father suddenly passed away.  During the days following his passing, we did what we could do just to “get through it.” Things like notifying immediate and extended family and close friends, piecing together an obituary, selecting a funeral home, working with the florist, making arrangements with the church for the service, quickly trying to put together memory boards, and planning the reception following the service.
All these tasks were daunting at best. We hoped the arrangements and decisions that we were making would have been pleasing to Michelle’s father. Completing these tasks on little rest was not easy; after all we were still dealing with the shock of the loss. Little did we know; however, that the challenges were just beginning! Like many families, one person is usually the keeper of the finances. In our case, Michelle’s father was that person. He paid all the bills, did the banking, and handled all of the household finances. In fact, Michelle’s mother had not paid a bill in nearly 60 years! Unfortunately, Michelle’s father hadn’t shared all of the important details with anyone in the family. So, none of us knew where all the accounts were located or even what life insurance policies may be in force. We did find a safe deposit key, but had no idea at what financial institution it was held. How were we to track down his pension and retirement assets, much less be able to access the bills he paid online? And the list of questions went on and on. Sadly, this process of “cleaning things up” took nearly 10 months of digging through desk drawers and old files, making exhaustive phone calls, and searching for documents and information. We found that others we spoke with about our situation were anxious to share their stories with us, and everyone one of them was sadly similar. Time for a Change We thought there must be a better way! Isn’t the sadness of the loss enough? Why should those who are left behind have to endure all of this additional hardship in an already stressful time? Michelle and I agreed that we had to come up with a solution to make things easier; a way for people to get organized and to share important information with those they love. So that when they pass, their loved ones will have access to important information and final wishes. In this complex and ever changing world, we can no longer simply hope our families or loved ones can figure things out. We call it “End of Life Etiquette.” |
