In this time of uncertainty, revisiting tasks that may have fallen by the wayside with you and your senior citizen parents is essential. These areas are not just for organizing your aging older parents. It's necessary for you, too, to get these items in an order that your beneficiaries can understand and take action on while mourning.
Did you know "78 percent of millennials (ages 18-36) and 64 percent of Generation Xers (ages 37-52) do not have a will?" -- It's time to make sure you and your older parents are prepared!
Jump to:
- Create a Living Will and Last Will Testimony Documents and keep them safe
- Gather Financial Accounts and Create a Master Account List
- Pull Together the Other Important Documents and store them in a safe place
- Gather Important Valuables - identify them and their location
- Compile their Memorabilia, Photos, and Home Movies
Create a Living Will and Last Will Testimony Documents and keep them safe
In our post, "Tips to help your parents with Legal Documents," I interviewed Peter Bort from Bort Law, and we discussed the necessary documents to protect one's estate in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Click through to read what these documents are so you know what to ask for when contacting an attorney.
Last Will and Testament
Durable General Power of Attorney
Advance Healthcare Directive/Living Will/Medical Power of Attorney
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
Body Disposition Affidavit
Some states may have different requirements. Check your state, county, or country for your specific situation. Remember that anyone age 18 or older should have a will in place, especially parents with small children.
After you complete these essential documents, you need to find a good place to store them. Usually, the attorney will keep the original and give you a copy of the will. They may also provide you with a digital copy of these documents. Some will also provide you with the original. Be sure these documents are stored in a secure fireproof safe and someone else, preferably a relative or executor, can access them easily.
When you receive a digital copy, be sure to share a copy of your Living Will and Power of Attorney with your Primary Care Provider and their most frequented hospital.
If their Primary Care offers online access to their account, be sure to set that up as well. If you have your parent's Power of Attorney, you can also request access to this information to help digitally keep discussions and care instructions available to you and them.
Gather Financial Accounts and Create a Master Account List
The next Critical area that needs to be organized is financial records and login information. In our post, "Tips to help your parents with money matters," we talk about five money areas to get together so you and your loved ones know where all the money is for the parent.
Bank names, Account numbers, name of the contact (if any), phone numbers, and account balances are just some of the crucial information needed in an emergency. For more details, visit our "How to Create a complete bank account list."
And don't forget, if you have several credit cards, they also need to be closed after their death, so giving their family access to the cards is helpful. Making a binder with business card sleeves to hold the credit cards and other reward cards is helpful. Don't forget to add their frequent flyer miles cards and account numbers!
Did you know you can transfer points to beneficiaries after the owner passes? Read about it here. Each airline has different policies, so you will need to check the airlines they have to find out what they do. Visit our post called "CREATE A REWARD AND CREDIT CARD BINDER TO HELP PROTECT IDENTITY" for details on how to make this binder; below is an image that shows how to lay out this credit card and rewards information sheet.
Pull Together the Other Important Documents and store them in a safe place
Now that you have all the financial documents in order, it's time to visit the other important documents. These include automobile titles, most recent three years of tax returns, deeds to houses, insurance policies, marriage licenses, military paperwork, naturalization paperwork, birth certificates, passports, social security cards, etc... Knowing where these documents are is so important. Visit our list of "20 Personal Important Documents to Keep Safe" for a complete list.
After organizing your older parent's important documents, you can start on the next step, creating a digital login information sheet. Creating a login list that includes:
- current passwords,
- the email address associated with the login,
- usernames,
- passwords
- Security Questions
This task will allow you and your older parent access if you ever need to log into an account online. Here's an example of a Login Information Sheet (paper version). Feel free to visit our post, too!
Medication
Keeping a list of their medications is also important. If you don't live with them, creating a list of meds (affiliate) they use and laminating it on a small card for them to carry with them will help you and others to see firsthand what they are taking in case there are issues with their health. Visit this post for more ideas.
Password Management
Or, you can purchase a Family plan through a password manager application like "LastPass." This paid app can be installed on Chrome and other browsers. They also have apps for iOS and Android phones. You can create up to 6 accounts to share passwords and account information.
The app also has sections to create secure notes, credit card information, and bank account information. You can easily share it with family members. After the other person accepts the invite, it is added to their list. It is super easy to manage the password list.
Gather Important Valuables - identify them and their location
The next area to visit is the expensive and important valuables your parents may own. These could include jewelry (affiliate), artwork, and heirlooms. Talking about where these items are stored and who they want the item to go to after they pass will help everyone know who is getting what item.
If you don't want the item, you can ask your other family members, and maybe they would want to do an exchange. Some people use colored dot stickers (affiliate) and have their kids stick these colored stickers on the back of items. Then, they would write down the item name and the person who wanted it and keep it with their will. This helps reduce the stress of what to do with the valuables after their death.
Compile their Memorabilia, Photos, and Home Movies
And, lastly, it's time to organize your older parents' memorabilia. These items will include objects, photos, and home movies. You will most likely treasure these items when your parents have gone, so keeping them organized and together now will be helpful when you need them most after they have passed. We talk about some keepsake tips in the posts below.
WHAT MEMORABILIA TO KEEP TO HONOR LOVED ONES
7 EASY HOME MOVIE ORGANIZING TIPS
8 AMAZING IDEAS TO HONOR YOUR MEMORABILIA
I hope this post gives you some direction on where to start organizing your older parents and yourself. By doing this now, if an emergency happens, you will have everything you need in an order that allows you to retrieve it with minimal stress and anxiety. It will also give you and your older parents peace of mind as they age.
Now, it's your turn. What else would you add to these areas to help your older parents get organized? Please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.
Feel free to visit our other downsizing posts!
Ronni Eisenberg says
All this information is critical even if we don’t like to have to deal with it. Have you considered putting together a guide book with all this information including the pages to fill out, such as credit card information, login information, passwords, etc.?
I think it would be quite valuable to many people.
Janet Schiesl says
All great information. It hard work to get all this done. But when you have it all done you won't stress about what will happen in the future.
Linda Samuels says
Like Janet's father, my dad was also organized. Even so, a year or more before he passed away, my mom, dad, and I went through and organized all the important documents (insurance policies, wills, cemetery plots, funeral arrangements, titles, etc...) in one fireproof box. When my dad passed away, I knew where everything was and could easily step in to help. Then a year later, when my mom was diagnosed with dementia, again, I had all the papers and documents needed to seamlessly help her. It was a gift they gave me.
Sabrina Quairoli says
That's wonderful! People don't realize how much of a gift it is until they really need it. Thanks for sharing.
Seana Turner says
I am fortunate that my parents are very aware of the need to communicate important information, especially my mother. She is always careful to tell me and my sister where critical documents are before she goes away, just in case. I am thankful for this. I actually think this task will become more difficult in future generations, because so much is stored inside our devices and on the cloud. One might think this will make things easier, but I'm not sure. I didn't know you could pass down points to beneficiaries. That is very nice to hear:)
Sabrina Quairoli says
I agree with you. I too think it may get even more complicated when sharing information in the future. I know of some apps you can set up and include family members so they are aware of what they have. They can even inform family members of where the documents are in the home. These apps include a private note section to write all these items down and have them in one place.
Janet Barclay says
My father was very organized - I think that's where I got it from - and it made things so much easier when he became terminally ill. My siblings and I were able to make all the necessary arrangements for his care and later for his funeral and estate.
My biggest advice - other than making sure all the legal documents are in order - is to talk to your parents while you still can. Make sure you know where everything is and what their wishes are. It's too important not to!
Sabrina Quairoli says
You are lucky that your father was very organized. Both of my parents were not very organized but we did discuss the details of their estates before they passed so I was prepared to take on the tasks. Thanks for sharing the tip.