NA Preparedness; for death

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

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Dave Taylor
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Not a cheery topic, ignore if not in a somber mood.

So I unexpectedly lost a brother in law recently, and sis is having hell sorting out her current situation; especially finances.

Help me make a list of things to do or know, which I would provide to my next of kin so their transition is easier. This list will only apply to people with 'simple lives' like mine, without huge family or business issues, no children.

Financial:
-what are the liabilities (with whom, what terms & balance & remaining time, monthly payments etc)
-what are the assets (where/whom; are they thought to hold value)
-who to call, if there is life insurance what is the benefit
-what are the rapidly-upcoming expenses; also make a chart of regular recurring expenses
-what income can be planned for
-will the new income level accommodate expenses
-what regular expenses need to be stopped especially automatic ones (I have a monthly health insurance auto-withdrawl, annual subscriptions)
-don't notify banks right away, if not set up properly they could freeze your account
-what things need to be transferred into survivor's name? (vehicles, policies, accounts)
-ctc info for trusted attorney, cpa, financial advisor.
-where is the most current will kept
-does SSA, IRS, other government body need notification

Other:
-advance directives, living will
-health care proxy or power of attorney paperwork
-DN_ (resuscitate/intubate/hospitalize, etc)
-financial power of attorney
(where are all these docs stored?)
-funeral arrangements
-pet care
 
Rich might be around, somewhere. He can help with some funeral arrangement things.

We have a lot of that stuff already in place. But here's the trick - you need to make sure that someone else knows about it. Make a notebook with a list of where everything is, and how to access it. You might need to give someone access to online passwords for some accounts, think about that. Keep all your photos in an online album? How will someone else get to them?

A copy of at least one page of every account you own, every insurance policy, every title, everything that has an account number and owner, or some instructions on where and how to find that information.

A friend lost both parents in a house fire, and that means they also lost all their records. He spend weeks trying to track down insurance policies, bank accounts, keys to vehicles that weren't damaged, titles to those vehicles, everything was gone.

I can piece together a lot of stuff for you, but right now this is what I can come up with off the top of my head.

A will, a living trust, a living will, advanced care directives, powers of attorney (financial and healthcare). It looks like you already have that info listed.
 
Logins and passwords and PINs. Family and friends to be notified. See if your bank or insurance company or funeral home has one of those books that guide you through collecting all that info. You just fill in the blanks. (Got mine from USAA).
 
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The vast majority of your financial stuff can be kept in an app such as Quicken or Banktivity. For all your other stuff, an emergency records app will probably do the deed. I haven't looked, but I bet you can get one that's freeware.

The one item that will cause an issue is passwords. Especially if you change them often. You'll need to have some way of providing them, and ensure the list is updated when you change.
 
Keep separate bank accounts.
 
Apps are fine except...having been thru this with both parents, trust me. You want this on paper. And many copies. One copy in the safe deposit box. One copy to a trusted friend or family member, someone who will be available in an emergency. One copy to your lawyer (assuming you have one). Dad put everything into a trust that he & I were owners. I had copies of wills, deeds, trust documents, everything. And duplicate keys to everything, even the bank box.

Don't depend on an app. What if the phone is destroyed along with you? In this situation, I never trust any technology more high tech than paper.

By the way, SSA does not need to be notified. It will know LONG before anyone else is. And it will reverse any payments as of the date of death. SSA monitors all death certificates in every state.
 
Our estate planning atty has a pretty detailed list of things to do and how to do them. One copy for him, one for us, and we are reminded constantly to tell family members, "If anything happens to us, grab the notebook and call the lawyer. He knows what to do."
 
Dang. My wife and I did a pretty thorough will a couple years back. I felt like we'd done well to get that accomplished. You guys are making me feel not so prepared.

Good thread.
 
Dealing with family members teaches you a lot. Powers of attorney are a big thing and simple to do
 
arkvet said:
Dang. My wife and I did a pretty thorough will a couple years back. I felt like we'd done well to get that accomplished. You guys are making me feel not so prepared.

Good thread.
Click to expand...

The will just cuts down on the legal fees for the estate. The little black notebook in the bank lockbox is what allows the surviving spouse or the administrator not to lose their mind in the process.
 
Should my wife and I pass at the same time, please refer anyone to this post. My parents can have everything and liquidate what they want. insurance should pay for a modest funeral for my wife and rockin keg party for me. The rest of the money should be used as needed for the KIds preferably toward education after other needs once Maslows hierarchy have been met. My parents get the kids. If just my wife passes, ill take the money. My parents still get the kids.
 
If you have assets and don't want a court-appointed outsider to be in control of them, especially if you'd rather have kids and grandkids get it, hire a trust attorney.
 
The wife and I are in the process of doing this. We have been arguing over who would get the girls if we both pass. She is making some great strides on her choices where I am floundering. My biggest issue is who gets my tools, jeep and guns. Our oldest boy really wants the jeep but he is not a mechanical type and he wouldn't be able to keep up on maintenance, the youngest boy is a bit naughty do I am scared he would try to turn it into a stupid rock crawler or something and the girls are too young to consider right now. The guns will most likely go to the oldest daughter since some are handed down from her great grandfather who we named her after. My wife and family know what is to be done with my ashes do no problem there. My like insurance will make her a very wealthy woman and give the kids a good education. The rest I don't care about.
 
My wife and I have a large folder with tabs and all the details of our life in there: house stuff, wills, insurance, bank accounts, cars, insurance, an inventory and value of 'certain' items I own, etc.

That folder is in my safe. Two EXTREMELY trusted people have the combination. Other people know to contact them if something happens to both of us.

It's sad that you're having to deal with the b-I-l's stuff, but it's good that you recognize the need to prepare and make it easier for the next guy.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
-does SSA, IRS, other government body need notification
Click to expand...

Believe IRS gets notified by way of your executor filing your tax return for the year you die and checking the yes box to the "Did this taxpayer die this year?" question. Then your executor will also file an estate return for the rest of the year.
 
Here's a short, quickie list:

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/10/estate-planning-checklist.asp

Remember things like cell phones, tablets, laptops, and PCs that require passwords and that contain tax forms, legal documents, family photos and video, and anything else your spouse or kids might want or need to get after you are gone.

In the real world, you'll never get everything, but just the fact that you are trying means you'll get a lot done up front and make your family's life that much easier.

And another thing that people forget about - beneficiaries. Verify that any long forgotten accounts or policies have current beneficiaries on them.
 
We're still young enough that we don't have much in the way of assets other than vehicles/boat, so there's not much else to document. No debts other than the mortgage, only life insurance is whatever minuscule amount my employer provides free of charge. I suppose utility accounts might need to be transferred to the wife's name, but that shouldn't pose too much issue. We should probably get on the ball with the life insurance, at least to cover my portion of the income/college fund for the new baby . . .
 
SoonerAviator said:
We're still young enough that we don't have much in the way of assets other than vehicles/boat, so there's not much else to document. No debts other than the mortgage, only life insurance is whatever minuscule amount my employer provides free of charge. I suppose utility accounts might need to be transferred to the wife's name, but that shouldn't pose too much issue. We should probably get on the ball with the life insurance, at least to cover my portion of the income/college fund for the new baby . . .
Click to expand...
In cases like that a TOD or joint names on titles might work. Having both names on checking/savings accounts might be sufficient, too. Once kids come into play, things get a little more serious and you have to start thinking about what happens to your kid's planned inheritance if you die, if you both die, and if you die and your spouse remarries then gets divorced and the ex gets half.
 
My life is so easy.

I need to designate who gets Autumn (Pomeranian) and Candy (RV6). I've been thinking I should make it a package deal since plenty of my nieces/nephews would like the plane. Not sure if any are keen on getting the dog.

Liquidate the rest, cremate Ravioli, and divide the money between the nieces/nephews.
 
Has anyone looked into having a professional be the executor/trustee. I don't want to burden a friend or relative with this. I know it costs, but I'll be dead, and no one needs my money.
 
Everskyward said:
Has anyone looked into having a professional be the executor/trustee. I don't want to burden a friend or relative with this. I know it costs, but I'll be dead, and no one needs my money.
Click to expand...
Yes. We have.

We set it up so there are co-trustees, a family member and a bank/trust. Keeps it simple that way, and the family member can have as much or as little involvement as they want.
 
Matthew said:
In cases like that a TOD or joint names on titles might work. Having both names on checking/savings accounts might be sufficient, too. Once kids come into play, things get a little more serious and you have to start thinking about what happens to your kid's planned inheritance if you die, if you both die, and if you die and your spouse remarries then gets divorced and the ex gets half.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the titles are all in my name, but I don't worry about that too much. We have joint bank accounts, so again, no problem there. Since there's nothing to inherit for the kid at this point, it all just goes to the wife, and then to the parents if we were both deceased. Her sister/BIL would be responsible for raising the child. If my spouse remarries and gets divorced, that's her problem at this point, lol.
 
A friend of mine has recently lost her father (he died of old age) and is going through the whole probate thing. It's a mess.
 
Everskyward said:
Has anyone looked into having a professional be the executor/trustee. I don't want to burden a friend or relative with this. I know it costs, but I'll be dead, and no one needs my money.
Click to expand...
I volunteer to take your money in the event of your untimely passing.
 
Matthew said:
And another thing that people forget about - beneficiaries. Verify that any long forgotten accounts or policies have current beneficiaries on them.
Click to expand...
Right, like "new wife" and not the ex.
 
Everskyward said:
Has anyone looked into having a professional be the executor/trustee. I don't want to burden a friend or relative with this. I know it costs, but I'll be dead, and no one needs my money.
Click to expand...

Most law firms large enough to not be single proprietor will do this as part of estate planning services. But someone has to notify them when you pass.
 
Another one for the list: Accounts -- you can get "payable upon death" information added to most bank accounts, similar to beneficiaries for insurance, etc. Makes it a simple"show photo ID" to switch the account holder to the surviving person rather than them having to bring in a death certificate AND evidence that they're the executor or other authorized agent of the estate.

Additionally adding people to titles on real estate or other big ticket items can be done ahead of time such that the Will isn't necessary for those items at all, they just get re-titled removing the deceased's name.

Those items above plus the spreadsheet with usernames and passwords made doing dad's incredibly easy. If I knew now what I knew then, it would have been pretty easy with those things in place to handle the entire estate myself, versus paying an attorney quite a bit of money.

But there was one particular property transfer thing that wasn't quite right to do easily for one of dad's ex-wives, so the attorney handling that one was helpful. Would have been "do-able" without the attorney, but would have taken more time and more back and forth with a county court far away, which made the high priced attorney a little more palatable. You're essentially paying for them having seen it all and done it all before, like any professional help is supposed to be.

To do the "payable on death" you'll usually need signature cards from the people you'll be leaving the accounts to, so it's not something you'll be able to keep a secret like a Will, if that's your goal. Not always necessary with Titles, depends on the jurisdiction and how their paperwork looks.

And if there's any former spouses or whatever and joint title for things based on old divorce decrees or anything complex like that, just expect to pay an attorney to get it right the first time.

Kids and custody is also a huge freaking mess from what I saw of it when researching other stuff. Be careful there and make sure if both parents are killed, there's legal and specific instructions for where the kids go and how the life insurance money and estate's assets pass to them and/or caregivers -- and beware caregivers that can get tired of raising someone else's kids and suck away all of the money left for them. That's a recurring theme when you search info on estates and big problems.
 
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