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Financial Document Checklist
Use this checklist to help you locate important paperwork for introductory interviews with our firm. We will use the information gathered to help us determine recommendations to help you reach your financial goals.
Getting Your Estate Ready
When you're getting your estate in order, there are many accounts, policies, documents, and other information to organize—and the list of to-dos can quickly become overwhelming. But our ultimate planning checklist will help you get organized painlessly. Organizing your most important information remove a big burden on your family if anything should happen to you—and you can relax knowing that they're taken care of.
Preparing for Your Will Conference
Prior to meeting with an attorney to complete a Will, use this document to review important items for your discussion.
Prescription Drug List
When you are admitted to a hospital, one of the first questions they ask is, “What prescription medicines are you taking?” The FDA estimates that there are up to 2 million adverse drug reactions a year, leading to up to 100,000 annual deaths. A common scenario: a first responder administers a new drug, unaware that the patient is already taking numerous prescriptions, and the combination proves deadly. Other times, patients are allergic to a drug and have a poor reaction. To protect you from this risk, we recommend you to list all of your prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications. Don’t forget supplements or recreational substances.
Emergency Health Info
On this form, you can record your emergency contacts, allergies, health information and history, health insurance, etc. This information can be lifesaving – doctors and nurses who have correct information are far less likely to commit a medical error, which kill an estimated 250,000 Americans a year (that’s the 3rd leading cause of death!)
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney (PoA) designates a person (your proxy) to handle your legal and financial affairs if you are incapacitated. A "durable" PoA will go into effect the moment it is signed, even if you are not incapacitatedÍž a "springing" PoA will only take effect if you become unable to make decisions on your own.
Password List
Unknown passwords: a vexing and increasingly common problem for families mourning the loss of loved ones. As more and more people move their address books, calendars, and financial information online, they are taking the risk that some information and accounts may never be recovered after their death. It can be almost impossible to handle or finalize a person’s affairs without gaining access to their accounts. That is, unless they share their passwords. Creating a hard copy and locking it away in a safe place, with details of its location, is imperative. It is equally important to remember to update at least once a year! PS. You may want to consider an online password manager, such as LastPass or 1Password. Once again, it is imperative that a friend or family member know about it and have the master password that accesses the account.
Financial Assets and Accounts
About $42 billion is sitting in unclaimed accounts because of poor record keeping and unaware heirs. On this form, you can record your financial assets such as their checking and savings accounts, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, CDs, money market funds, retirement plans, IRAs, annuities, etc.
Estate Planning
Using this form, you can keep track of your estate and leave instructions for how you wish for your assets and obligations to be handled.