How Much Is Your Estate Worth?
For that matter, how much does anyone really know about you and your
personal affairs? That doesn’t mean you are expected to confide
that kind of information to just anyone – but surely your husband,
your wife, a child or your lawyer, solicitor, or attorney should be made
aware of the whereabouts of your insurance, home and personal papers. Okay, so they know you’ve made a will, signed a Power of Attorney
– even prepaid your funeral. Good for you! Excellent! BUT have you told anyone:
- Where you bank?
- Where your investments are?
- How about your insurance policies?
- And don't forget about your sources of income, as well as your debts
and other liabilities pertaining to your estate.
Are Your Estate's Affairs Really in Order?
“Be Prepared” – the motto of the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts
and Girl Guides – has stood the test of time, been followed by millions
of people, and should be a guiding light for everyone. Unfortunately,
most of us continue to put off attending to anything that is even remotely
associated with the possibility of becoming incapacitated (physically
or mentally) and are no longer able or capable of taking care of our personal
affairs and ourselves. Even more sobering – what will happen to
those dependent upon us, or those we leave behind, when we die? Obviously, no one likes to talk about death – even to think about
it. Nevertheless, it doesn’t do anyone any good to just bury their
head in the sand, pretending it won’t happen – because it
will! And when it happens, will loved ones, significant others, relatives
or friends know what to do?
Introducing an Estate Planning Tool
An excellent and very helpful article in the Canadian senior citizens
magazine, Good Times (September 2001) deals with this topic in a very
general way when it advises its readers to “Share Financial Information;
Introduce Professional Advisors; Assess Domestic Affairs; Prepare Contingency
Plans and Take Advantage of Helping Hands.” It is in that same spirit of helpfulness and “Be(ing) Prepared”
that the comprehensive and detailed Will and Estate Planning Inventory
Kit was prepared and is now available and useable to the general public,
wherever they live throughout the world, with the hope that people will
not procrastinate any longer, thereby taking the chance of leaving everything
up to a spouse, lawyer, family member or friend to fret, worry and hunt
for the many and sundry items, documents, information and property records
that will be required by the various levels of government, care givers,
etc. Playing ‘hide and seek’ might be fun for kids – but
it isn’t fun for the person or persons left to finalize an estate
and distribute various items – items that may or may not have been
named in a formal will – items intended for ‘specific’
individuals. It is at that point where ‘hide and seek’ is
no longer a game but instead, becomes a very real, serious and expensive
business – expensive both in time and money. That’s when the
world’s first, specially designed, comprehensive and inexpensive
estate planning tool comes to the rescue!
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