GET ORGANIZED! Papers, papers: What to do …

By SUZANNE NEILSON Special to The Packet
    Face it: There are certain issues in life that absolutely must be addressed, and one of these is our important documents and papers. It is essential that your affairs be in order and easily accessible, both to spare you time and frustration and to ensure that your survivors understand all of your affairs and wishes when you are gone.
    This means you must (1) create those important documents that you don’t have already, and (2) organize them logically in one place where both you and your loved ones can easily find them.
    So let’s take a look at those papers that we all need to have ready and at our disposal.
The documents …
    • Last Will and Testament: Your most important document is your will. Everyone should have one. Period. Don’t put it off, as the consequences can be dire if you become non-compos- mentis or if you die intestate. No matter the size of your estate, having a will spares your family/survivors uncertainty, infighting and potential loss of inheritance, as well as a hard time winding up your affairs. Without a will, the state may decide where your money and possessions go, short of a costly legal suit brought by your family, and who will be the guardian(s) of your children, should there be contention about that. In other words, this is not a position in which to leave your affairs.
    • The Living Will: The “living will” is an aspect of a will that sets forth your directives for your medical treatment, should you ever become unable to relay your choices and instructions. Without a living will, medical personnel and family members are put in the difficult position of having to decide how to conduct your treatment. Specifying ahead relieves your relatives of much anguish.
    • Your birth certificate, Social Security card, and passport; adoption papers; naturalization papers; marriage papers; divorce papers; the deed(s) to your home/vacation property/a plot of land/time share, cemetery plot; the title(s) to your automobile(s)/boat, and financial papers, including a list of every bank account, CD, stock, bond, mutual fund, etc., you own. Within this list should be the location of the holding company, the address and phone number, and a personal contact, if you have one.
    • Loan/mortgage documents: These are part of your financial picture, and certainly these papers are important in establishing what you owe and to whom. Include the specifics down to every last detail.
    • Legal agreements, e.g., prenuptials, business agreements, should be included in the files.
    • A list of other valuable/ sentimental personal property that you own, such as jewelry, silverware, expensive antiques and collections, pieces of art, etc., with all the receipts and papers of authentication you can muster.
    • The location of your safe deposit box, if you have one, the contents therein, and the location of the key. If your box is at a bank, don’t forget to include the branch and its address.
    • Copies of credit cards, insurance cards, your license (both front and back): This information is all-important should your cards become lost or stolen.
    • Your tax returns and supporting papers for the past seven years..
    • Military discharge papers: Veterans are entitled to certain benefits such as medical care and funerals.
    • Directives regarding the disposition of your remains: These directives are usually included in the will. If not, write them down.
    • Funeral Plans: Some people may want to stipulate the type of funeral they’d like, either religiously, stylistically, or with an eye toward minimizing expense. Some like to choreograph the whole thing. If you do have a preference, write it down.
    • List of keys and their locations: What a nuisance when keys to bank security boxes, vehicles, old trunks of valuables, etc., are missing. Dealing with lost keys can be time-consuming and expensive. Make sure they are all in one place and the location is written down.
Organizing and safekeeping
    The documents listed herein are the types that most people have, although you may have others, such as a full listing of your coin collection and its whereabouts. No matter what papers you do have, though, of course they are useless if no one can find them, and the headaches are just as big. So keep life simple, and gather everything together in one spot in an organized fashion.
    As to where that spot is, you may choose a fireproof box for some or all of the papers. For example, you might keep your will, passport, birth certificate, Social Security card, titles, deeds, and a list of your financial accounts in a fireproof box, and keep the rest in an adjacent filing cabinet. Some people feel safer with these papers in a safe deposit box at the bank. If you keep your original will at home, it is best to have it in a fireproof box.
    No matter what you choose, it is not a bad idea to give a detailed list of all of the documents to your power of attorney or a trusted friend so that they can be recreated if need be.
Should you have questions or could use some help, call Suzanne Neilson, Professional Organizer, at 609-688-9853.