Death Letters

One way to make your death easier on your family is to leave a “death letter”, or, a letter of instruction to your family detailing where to find important information such as lawyers, bank accounts, etc.

It’s not a legal document, and, certainly doesn’t replace a will or power of attorney, but, it’s a set of instructions to help your family in case of severe illness, or, death.

My parents had/have them, but, we were never very good about knowing where to keep it, so, I guess that kind of defeats the purpose.

Also, I guess my mother-in-law needs one of these, too.

Anyway, the Money Magazine article, One Thing to Make Easier on Your Kids, outlines what should be included in such a letter:

You can ease your children’s burden if you include these specific items in a letter of instruction:

The location of:

* Estate-planning documents (wills, trusts, powers of attorney)
* Financial records, such as tax returns and deeds
* Safe-deposit boxes (and their keys). If there’s no safe-deposit box, say so.
* Insurance policies

Policy/account numbers for:

* Life insurance and long-term-care policies
* Social Security
* Banks, credit union and brokerage accounts (include online passwords)

Phone numbers for:

* The people you do business with, including attorneys, accountants and financial planners.
* Your funeral home, if you’ve already made arrangements. Include instructions about organ donation or your memorial service.

It’s important to be specific about your wishes, and, to update the letter as needed.