Because you loved them continued...information your family will need

I begin with the date the information was last updated or compiled, along with legal names and social security numbers.

1: Cash, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market funds. Include the names of financial institutions, account numbers and amounts.

2. Bonds and Marketable Securities - Non-Retirement: number of shares, description, owner, account number or location of certificates, brokerage account information, recent market value.

3. Retirement Accounts: Break down by type (IRA, Annuity, Pension, 401K), include description, managing institution, recent market value, beneficiaries.

4. Life Insurance Policies: issuing company, owner of policy, beneficiaries, face amount, account number, cash value and death benefit.

5. Real Estate Owned: description (e.g. personal residence, second home, investment property), address, mortgage holder and balance of mortgage or date paid off, current market value.

6. Liabilities - loans owing to banks, brokers, finance companies, credit card companies, others. List the institution or individual owed, date of origination, description, security given for the loan (if any), monthly payment and principle balance.

7. Other Assets: list automobiles, jewelry, furniture, artwork, etc.

8. Important names and addresses - close relatives, attorney, accountant, insurance agents.

9. Location of Important Documents - describe the documents and their locations. If there is a safety deposit box, give its location, number and a detailed list of its contents.

Because you loved them... important records to leave behind

Coping with a loved one's death is traumatic enough without the inevitable scramble for information - Is there a cemetery plot? What kind of service did the departed one want? How do we pay the mortgage/rent/insurance until the estate is settled? Is there a will? What kind of bank and brokerage accounts, life insurance policies, health care policies, annuities are there?

Most of us do not want to discuss these subjects or have difficulty doing so. But, if you love your families, you will do them a big favor if you compile this information and make sure it is available to them. Leaving it all in a safety deposit box can be a problem. If probate is required, it could take weeks, even a month or more to access the box. Not a good place for the cemetery deed, pre-paid funeral arrangements or the only copy of a will.

Many years ago I began compiling my own information into a spreadsheet when I had to complete a loan application and had a difficult time finding all the requested information. Over the years I tweaked it as I realized this was a valuable record if anything happened to me. For security, this spreadsheet is never kept on my hard drive, but always "on disk" stored in a safe place. I have repeatedly reminded my closest family of its existence.

For some, a simple word processing file might work better. I will summarize the records you need in a future blog.