We plan many, many things in our lives. We plan our day to day activities, we plan for when we can take our next vacation, we plan for Christmas presents, we plan for what we’ll eat for dinner, etc. Though all these plans are important, there’s one aspect of our lives that most of us don’t plan for enough. The effects of not planning for your own death could be detrimental to not only your current affairs, but also your family. This is why creating a “life plan” is so important. Without a plan, your family will be left to figure out how to handle your death in more than an emotional way, but also in a financial way. Rather than letting them financially support the after death expenses by themselves, having a Life Plan can ease some of that pressure off of them. In this digital age, it is a bit more complicated to gather all of your important documents and paperwork all in the same place. Here is a Step-by-Step Guide to Life Planning to help you prepare yourself for the worst so your family won’t have to.
Step 1: Have all of your basic documentation together.
If you have a will written up or a trust plan for your family, it is very important that you have those documentations together either online or hard copies in a place where another family member knows where it is located. Also birth certificates, marriage certificates, bank account information, retirement funds, power of attorney paperwork, etc. should all be filed together.
Step 2: Know all your current information.
Information such as emergency contacts, past and present doctor’s names, all previous medications used and any legal service providers you usually have contact with can be beneficial in case of an emergency. If these documents were together, an individual can easily access this information to assist you in your time of need.
Step 3: All other personal information together.
Some documents we don’t see as important as others. Gathering these secondary documents such as copies of vehicle titles, driver’s licenses, next of kin’s contact information, employment timeline, etc. is just another precaution in making another person or loved one’s access to this information easier if you were in need of any of it.
For other ways to be prepared for the unforeseen future, please check out our other articles on KupunaWiki.com.
A Step by Step Guide to Life Planning
