Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Another Challenge - Big Book of Everything

From time to time I come across something amazing that I just have to share with you all, and this is one of those times. I’ve written before about making your final preparations (I am a Funeral Director, after all) and have tried to give you options to think about. But there is so much more to estate planning than just figuring out one’s final disposition.

There are wills, bank accounts, life insurance policies, and much, much more. Many folks advocate having a binder that puts all of your information in one place, in the event of your death. I am one of those folks. If something happened to me, Hubby would have no idea how to access my bank account, let alone figure out how to pay the bills online.

This is important folks! I cannot stress enough how helpful having all this information in one place will be to your spouse and/or executor should something unexpected happen to you.

Please, look over the following page, and click the PDF link at the bottom. (It is geared to our American counterparts, but it is still interchangeable for us Canucks.) Print it off, and start filling it out. It may take some time, but it will be worth it to your family, I promise! Each page can be put in a page protector and can be assembled into a binder.

If you set no other goal for yourself this year other than to complete this binder, you will have accomplished more than 90% of the general population.

For the link to the PDF, go to: http://www.erikdewey.com/bigbook.htm (It’s at the bottom of the page.)


I will be doing this myself. I will be filling it out, a page at a time, until it is completed, to the best of my ability. I challenge you all to do the same.

5 comments:

  1. This is so important as things can happen at any time - they don't wait for us to get our sh-t together. I have instructions in a metal box but have yet to name an executor. Eventually I want my daughter to be on my accounts jointly so she'll be able to access $$ in event of my death. I have burial information listed etc - still lots to do!

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  2. I filled out a booklet with a lot of this information when we purchased our cemetery plot. It makes such great sense to have this info ready and available to whoever has to organize your affairs after you are gone. We still have a few big things to sort out before we can relax and know it's all done but that's one of the things we plan to tackle in 2012.

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  3. I really need to get something like this filled in. Thanks for posting!

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  4. I agree this a great idea, but with only one caution - keep it locked up in a safe place.

    I arranged for my Dad to do something like this, he filled out all the information and put it on the bottom draw of his filing cabinet with my name on it.

    Dad took someone into his home who took the booklet and opened up accounts in his name, stole his savings and ran up bills of almost $20,000 in his name. I only found out when he took ill. It took several years to get the horrible phone calls to stop after having to declare him bankrupt. he lost his entire life savings, we couldn't prosecute because of his demenita. The person who did that to him is in jail now for other offence.

    Recording the information is really important, but please don't leave it unlocked.

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