Public service announcement...

As many of you know, I recently dealt with the death of my father. He did not have his financial or other things in order, which has led to lots of things that my brother and I have had to figure out, track down, find, or even guess at. So, one of the lessons I learned and that I will be doing include:

1) setting up an advanced directive (this he did have, as part of the whole hospice package) -- this is a document that outlines what types of medical care you wish to have if you ever end up where you cannot communicate your wishes. Do you want to have a tube put down your throat to feed you? Do you want to be put on life support? Who do you want to make these decisions for you if you can't? Lifehacker has a post on Advanced Directives, including a link to a site with basic forms for each state in the U.S.

2) a will -- A will allows you to identify a person or persons that you want to manage your estate and allows you to identify a person, persons, or organizations that you want your assets given to when you die. One word of advice, do NOT leave your will in your safe deposit box. In California, if you die, your assets are frozen, including your safe deposit box. This means that no one can get in to your safe deposit box to get your will without a representative from the government present, and that the person opening the safe deposit box must be identified as the executor of your estate. Problem is, they can't be identified as the executor of your estate without your will. So keep a copy where people can get to it if something happens to you. See an attorney if you have questions about writing a will.

3) keep a list of insurance policies, bank accounts, beneficiaries, retirement accounts, mortgages, assets, credit cards, and other important things and make that easily accessible to the person(s) you want to take care of your estate. Anything related to money or insurance, keep a comprehensive list, including account numbers, contact information, and beneficiaries -- this will be the most help to the person who has to take care of your estate or deal with your life if you are not able to.

None of this stuff is easy to think about. It's hard to acknowledge that life ends or that we might become incapacitated. But help the people who love you, and make everything a bit easier for them. It's hard enough to deal with the loss of a loved one, but harder still when you have to sort through decades worth of papers to figure out whether or not there's an insurance policy that's still in effect.