Last Will And Testament

It's open enrollment season at my work. This is the one time during the year I can make corrections to my employee benefits such as health insurance, life insurance, dental, etc. This year, we added a flexible spending account so we can use tax free money to pay for various medical and dental visits and prescriptions. It's a pretty sweet deal.

I was reviewing my information prior to deciding on any changes and what struck me was all the various financial accounts Daleen and I have. Between insurance policies, bank accounts, investment accounts, a 401K plan that is severely devalued, and various vehicles of credit, I realized we manage quite a lot. But what has really struck me recently is, what would happen to all this if I were to suddenly pass away?

Daleen's sister died very unexpectedly just over a year ago. She didn't have a will. At least she didn't have a will in the U.S. that was legally binding here, even though she lived in Florida. However, she had most of her account information fairly well organized. But even with her somewhat organized account information, Daleen has run in circles for the past year trying to close up her sister's estate. Without a will, it ain't easy. I mean it really ain't easy. Without a will, because of privacy policies and identity protection, nobody would even talk to her. Daleen had to get a lawyer so she could be appointed as the executor of her sister's estate. Then there has been the forms. An entire mountain of forms. To compound this, the people from the various insurance and banking companies that are supposed to be helping us are for the most part, extremely inefficient or simply not adequately trained for their jobs. Sometimes I think they are either trying very hard not to part with Naomi's assets or claim money, or all of their other clients are like Methuselah and no one has ever died, and they just don't know what to do.

Her having a will would have helped us immensely. At the time, we didn't have a will. We definitely have one now.

Now, lately I have been looking into all these accounts and policies we have and feel like I need to get this all organized. Right now, if something were to happen to me, I don't think Daleen would know who to contact to get the ball rolling. So here's my plan. I'm going to compile a list all of my accounts and policies. All the policy and account numbers, values, and contact information. I'm even planning on including a letter stating exactly what I would like to have for my funeral, what to do with my remains, and who to make phone calls to.

Daleen has been fighting for over a year to finalize her sister's estate and she still has a long way to go. I don't want that for anyone who does the same for me someday. My hope is that whoever needs this information someday will find it comprehensive and it will make their job easy. They're going to have all the information they need and they'll have my will to provide them with the authority to execute my wishes.

I know this all seems a little grim, but since witnessing first hand how having a will and organized documents could have made a difficult time a lot easier, I am passionate about this. My sister-in-law had a nice funeral. Daleen and I then transported her remains to South Africa where we had another memorial service and saw her to her final resting place. Through all of that, and all the subsequent things that have needed to be done, we have tried to carry on with her affairs the way we think she would have wanted, but we're still only guessing.

When I pass on, those who carry out my final wishes and finalize my affairs won't have to guess. I plan to make sure they know and that gives me real peace of mind.