Compiling and Retaining Important Records

As your personal, financial, and legal records grow in volume and importance over the years, the task of organizing such documents may seem overwhelming. Yet, the importance of having your vital records readily accessible cannot be overemphasized. In the event of your untimely incapacitation or death, your loved ones will need many of these documents to ensure that your wishes are carried out. You certainly don’t want them to be burdened with locating numerous documents and records during such an emotionally difficult time.

By organizing your important records, you can express your wishes, such as how you want your property to be distributed, your intentions for life-sustaining measures, and any special preferences for your funeral and burial arrangements. By completing the necessary information manually or on your computer and filing your documents in one convenient location, your family or heirs will be able to easily locate them. This helps ensure that your wishes are known and minimizes the risk of family disputes. This information will also help expedite the settlement of your estate upon your death.

Organizing your essential records can also help you understand your financial picture, plan for the future, and communicate those plans to the appropriate individual(s). Once you have completed this project, you will have peace of mind knowing that your affairs are in order. You may wish to tackle this project all at once or a little at a time, but once you’ve set a goal to compile and organize your important records, you should follow through with its completion.

Although there are a number of different ways to organize your important records (for example, a notebook or CD, or paper or electronic files), we encourage you to develop a system that works for you. If you save information on your computer, be sure to let your trusted loved ones know the logon information and password.

Your completed organizer should contain detailed information about your estate and wealth transfer goals and intentions. Oftentimes, we find that some of the details of estate plans (e.g., durable powers of attorney, health care directives, beneficiary designations, etc.) need to be updated or require further attention.