(Adapted from the Fall 2024 Kentlands and Lakelands Village Newsletter)

Providing clear instructions and access to documents is a gesture of kindness that can ease the stress and uncertainty faced by those trusted with managing your affairs. Put this information, along with the location of each document, in a folder—and be sure to tell your family where the folder is kept! One way to organize information is by creating a spreadsheet or downloading a checklist-type organizer. The following documents can be critically important in settling your affairs, although they don’t all apply to everyone.

Personal information: Date of birth; Social Security number; spouse’s/partner’s name, date of birth, and Social Security number; names and contact information of close family and friends; names of organizations with memberships; pet information/records.

Financial information: List of beneficiaries; recent bank statements; checking/savings accounts; information on financial institutions; credit card information, including numbers, issuers’ information, balances, location of cards, and due dates. list of regular bills to be paid and contact information for each company (utilities, phone, cable internet, cell phone, water/sewage, car insurance, etc.); on-line automatic bill payments with dates of withdrawals; investment accounts (401k, IRA, etc.); stocks and bonds certificates; employer/retirement benefit (pension) plans; veterans’ benefit records; disability payment documents; income statements (Social Security, employment, other); mortgage/loan papers; tax returns; documents for tax returns (property tax records, bank 1099’s, etc.), safe deposit box information and who else has key.

Health care documents: Health insurance information; health care proxy; medical orders for life-sustaining treatment (MOLST) form and/or living will; list of physicians’ with specialties, addresses, and phone numbers; list of allergies; list of medications (including how to obtain them at a drugstore or online); list of any health diagnoses; list of procedures with dates (e.g., colonoscopy, mammogram, MRI); list of surgical history; organ/body donor information; family medical history .

Household/property/possessions documents: Deed and abstract for home, mortgage paperwork, title insurance policy, rental property documents, name and contract for storage unit, list of valuable possessions and locations, auto ownership records, auto insurance policy, records for other vehicles, location of keys (house, garage, storage locker, car) and who has copies.

Insurance policies: Health insurance policy, long-term health insurance policy, life insurance policy, homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy, property/casualty/flood insurance policy, vehicle insurance policy (auto, boat, camper).

Legal information: My will/trust agreement (original and copy); spouse’s/partner’s will/trust agreement (original and copy); power of attorney agreement; birth certificates; adoption records; business ownership documents; divorce/separation papers; driver’s license (copy); employment information; marriage certificate; military service papers, including discharge records; names and contact information of lawyers, financial advisor, accountant, etc.; passport, citizenship, immigration registration papers; Social Security cards.

Usernames, passwords, and security questions and answers: Bank accounts, cell phones, computers, credit card accounts, email accounts, on-line bill payments, portals for health care (hospital, doctors’ offices), social media accounts.

Burial plans and final preparations: Funeral home information, burial/cremation instructions, deed for cemetery plot, memorial service/funeral wishes, obituary ideas/draft. (After death, the family should obtain multiple copies of the death certificate).

Miscellaneous: Manuals, receipts, warranties.