{"id":4993,"date":"2016-07-21T11:22:45","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T15:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/?p=4993"},"modified":"2019-04-23T15:44:20","modified_gmt":"2019-04-23T19:44:20","slug":"are-your-personal-finances-top-secret","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/are-your-personal-finances-top-secret\/","title":{"rendered":"Are your personal finances TOP SECRET?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Recently, I attended a funeral for a much-loved, elderly friend. He adored his wife and spoiled her every day. Throughout their marriage, he took care of the bills, handled their portfolio, and never bothered her with investment worries. However, after his passing, she found herself in the dark about their personal finances and did not even have the password to access their Quicken account. Days later, a family member was able to remedy this, but it was just the beginning of many financial mysteries left to be solved. This scenario is all too common, especially for the senior generation.<\/p>

After a funeral, when the dining room table is covered in condolence cards and medical bills, the last thing a widowed spouse needs to worry about is how to access a password-protected financial account. Or worse, have to wonder if there are enough funds to cover incoming bills.<\/p>

Fortunately, with some planning, there are steps we can take now to ensure our loved ones can easily access the information they need when this time comes..<\/p>

With a trip to the store and a couple of hours, you can put together a financial book that\u00a0will provide the key to unlocking your financial life. The sole purpose of this book is to record account numbers, approximate balances, mortgage information, contact names, retirement account institutions and everything in-between for those left to sort through our financial matters. A book with every account, every contact and every balance written down in black and white will greatly ease the frustrations of a bewildered spouse or executor of an estate.<\/p>

The sooner you start, the better. Like a will, a well thought-out estate plan is essential. Grab a notebook and make a list of all of your personal financial life information and place it in a safety deposit box with your will. Some items to include:<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

  • Bank Account \u2013 institution, address, account numbers, passwords, balance range, Payable on Death names, phone number<\/li>
  • Retirement Accounts \u2013 institution, address, phone number, password, beneficiary, balance range<\/li>
  • Insurance Policies \u2013 company and agent names, phone numbers, account numbers, amounts, beneficiaries. Include in this list, life, home, car, umbrella, medical and any policy you own.<\/li>
  • Stocks \u2013 brokerage firm, phone number, account number, stocks held, amount of stock, beneficiary<\/li>
  • Employer \u2013 company contact, phone number, employee number. List any life insurance, stock options, survivor benefits and anything else that would be needed.<\/li>
  • Credit cards \u2013 account numbers, passwords, phone numbers<\/li>
  • Password to computers and any relevant accounts such as online banking, brokerage accounts, Quicken<\/li>
  • Mortgages \u2013 institution, accounts, phone numbers, balances, location of deeds<\/li>
  • Auto Loans \u2013 loan Holder, account number, phone numbers, balances, location of titles<\/li>
  • Bonds \u2013 bond Issuer, account number, phone number, bond amount<\/li>
  • Will \u2013 location of will, name of executor<\/li>
  • Funeral instructions<\/li>
  • Safety Deposit Box \u2013 bank, location of key, contents<\/li>
  • Location of any hidden cash or jewelry in the house<\/li><\/ul>

    While not extensive, this list is a good start. Remember, our financial lives can be complex and complicated. Ease the burden for your loved ones and leave behind the key to help them navigate your financial life.<\/p>

    Guest Contributor:<\/strong>\u00a0Dana Chitwood, AFC\u00ae<\/sup><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    July 21, 2016<\/span><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Recently, I attended a funeral for a much-loved, elderly friend. He adored his wife and spoiled her every day. Throughout their marriage, he took care of the bills, handled their portfolio, and never bothered her with investment worries. However, after his passing, she found herself in the dark about their personal finances and did not even have the password to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[108,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-estate-planning","category-financial-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAre your personal finances TOP SECRET? - AFCPE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afcpe.org\/news-and-publications\/blog\/are-your-personal-finances-top-secret\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are your personal finances TOP SECRET? - AFCPE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recently, I attended a funeral for a much-loved, elderly friend. 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