Posted
Jul 18 2008, 05:35 AM
by
Karen Datko
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar.
About a year ago, I wrote a lengthy article about how to start a filing system, including information about what kind of filing cabinet to buy and what sorts of things you should file. Near the end, I wrote one little paragraph that deserves to be looked at again in more detail:
A master document explaining what all of this stuff is. This is mostly a guide to the executor of your estate, containing all important information not in the other documents and also explaining online account access and other details, like where a safety deposit box key can be found. This may also include personal letters for people to read in the event of your passing.
Think about this scenario: If you dropped dead right after reading this article, would your survivors -- your kids, your spouse, your family -- have any idea how to access your money? Would they even know where all of your accounts are?
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