It Can Happen To You

"It Can Happen to You" by: Joyce Moseley Pierce

You see it every day on the news. You get up and turn the tv onin the morning and learn that while you were sleeping, otherswere involved in accidents that caused their death. As onefriend put it, "You watch the news and think that somehow yourfamily is protected from these tragedies. After all, thesepeople don't live in your neighborhood. They come from adifferent social class. They were in the wrong place at thewrong time." It wasn't until his 21 year-old sister was killedin a skiing accident that he realized that all of hisjustifications were wrong. Your family most certainly can beaffected.

Donna had asked her husband to write some things down for herbefore his flight to the Middle East several years ago. Hescratched some things out on the back of an envelope and toldher she was being silly. He returned from that trip, but a fewshort months later was killed by a drunk driver.

At least Donna had something to start with, but she wasn'tprepared for all of the questions the funeral home fired at her.She knew what bank accounts they had, and had helped with payingthe bills over the years, but what about funeral arrangements?Did he want to be buried in Louisiana with his parents, or herein Texas where she and her family lived? cremation or burial?What about the obituary for the newspaper? Did she have all ofthe accurate information they needed to write it?

Her emotions were raw as she tried to deal with the reality ofit all. Was this all just a bad dream that would soon end? Shejust wanted to go home and grieve, but there were too manythings to think about.

* How long will it take to settle the estate? * Will I haveenough cash to live on until then? * Will the insurance comebefore they foreclose on the house? * Where is the real copy ofthe will? * How can I prove stock ownership? * Do I know aboutall bank accounts and insurance policies? * How do I collectsocial security? * Whose advice can I trust?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, now is a goodtime for you to start thinking about them. What are some thingsyou can do to be better prepared for these situations?

1. Talk to your spouse (and don’t forget your parents) andexplain the importance of working together to put thisinformation together now. Accidents aren’t something we schedule!

2. Gather important papers. Include birth certificates, pre-paidfuneral arrangements, military records, current bank and creditcard statements, wills, safe deposit information (bank, boxnumber, authorized signers, contents), employment information -insurance, savings plans, retirement accounts, etc., savingsaccount statements, stock certificates, loan agreements,automobile titles, health and life insurance.

3. Discuss the disposition of personal items. This will helpavoid family feuds when it comes time to decide who should getgrandfather's watch or mother's pearls.

4. Make copies of these documents and file the originals in asafe place. A fireproof safe at home is recommended so you'llhave access to them on the weekend. You might even considerscanning them and saving them to a CD.

5. Keep the information up to date. Decide to go through theserecords at least annually to make sure the information hasn'tchanged. Take this opportunity to discard outdated information.

6. Make sure someone in your family, and a trusted familyfriend, knows where this information is stored so it can beretrieved at a moment's notice. The fireproof box is a goodplace to keep it along with your original documents, but be sureto put it back each time you update the information.

You are doing your family a disservice if you don't prepare thisinformation for them while you're able. It doesn’t make sense toprovide for them throughout your life, only to leave themstruggling when they need your guidance more than ever.

About the author:Joyce is a freelance writer and owner of EmersonPublications.She is the creator of "All They'll Need to Know," aworkbook to help families record personal and financialinformation. She is also the editor of The Family FirstNewsletter, an ezine for families with young children.http://www.emersonpublications.com

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