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I read with great interest what happened to a widow whose husband died unexpectedly and she had to deal with the finances. The article which should be available without a subscription is below:
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/widow-financial-planning-36ce4608?st=AM25UW&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
I wanted to know what do HD readers do to prevent something similar from happening to them. Is there a checklist that you review every so often with your spouse or someone who will handle your finances after you are gone.
I look forward to your wisdom.
I have written a “letter” to my wife entitled, “What Do I Do Now?”
it is a comprehensive listing of all financial accounts, account numbers, passwords, etc. it also lists the location of all documents, legal and otherwise.
it gives instructions on end of life issues. Including funeral instructions.
it also includes name and contact info on all advisors, and attorney and banker.
Lastly, it includes recommendations on what to do in a variety of different situations. Basically, I prepared everything I have recommended to clients over 40 years in financial services.
Same scenario for us – dear wife has no interest in the financial details. However, our financial side is current and well documented in Quicken – all accounts, contact info, current values, etc. updated once a month. For us, “the letter” is actually a 1 inch thick notebook covering where everything is, obituaries, prepaid cremation documents, funeral instructions, wills, advanced medical directives, durable powers of attorney, etc.
Our four sons (and daughter-in-laws) will almost certainly have to jump in if I predecease her, but it’s all there and we will review it with them again when we’re together for Thanksgiving.
My wife is very similar to the lady in the article, she tries at times to stay updated on everything but ultimately her eyes gloss over and it just becomes very frustrating for her.So what we have done is try to make everything as simple as possible
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1) We only have funds at Fidelity and Vanguard at this time, my wife still has a 401k with Principal at her work, we will transfer those over to Fidelity or Vanguard once she turns 59.5 next year.
2) All of our accounts are kept both digitally and in paper form in our safe deposit box that gets updated as needed for both her and the kids.
3) I found a Financial Advisor who charges a very reasonable fee that works out to about one tenth of 1%, (0.12%). They only invest in index funds, we meet 1x a year to go over our plan, we have access to him as needed throughout the year with no extra costs, and he does our taxes every year. He has done our Roth conversions, and this year is doing tax gain harvesting for us. So it’s a win/win situation, much less stress for me trying to get her more involved and much less frustration for her.
While my wife and I discuss our investments, she is very similar to the lady in the article in the WSJ. I’ve got a binder stashed in a safe place that has all of our retirement accounts, bank accounts and insurance information contained in several pockets within that binder. If something happens to me, both she and my son know where to go and can follow the breadcrumb trail. They can do what they like with these investments at that time.