Spring is almost upon us, bringing with it the annual tradition of long spring cleaning and organization to-do lists. Usually these tasks primarily involve our homes and living spaces, but what about important documents? When it comes to turning your home upside down, shuffling around a loved one’s belongings and paperwork can make it difficult to keep everything straight, but especially for seniors, it can be imperative to have important documents in order. Here are 3 easy steps:
- Discovery. First, simply ask where important papers are kept. It may be in a file cabinet in the house, in a deposit box or with an attorney. Come up with a tidy checklist to record where everything is located. Documents to include on the list may include:
- Birth certificate
- Marriage certificate
- Death certificate (for deceased spouse)
- Divorce papers
- Military papers
- Driver’s license/organ donor card
- Passport/citizen papers
- Will
- Living will
- Durable power of attorney
- Health care power of attorney
- Trust
- Letter of instruction – with funeral arrangements, important contact information such as insurance agent or broker
- Insurance policies (life, disability, long-term care)
- Information about safety deposit boxes (eg location, number, key)
- Review. Once you’ve identified where those important papers are located, sit down as a family to thoroughly examine all documents.
- Storage. It’s pertinent to keep important documents in a safe, accessible place such as a secure file cabinet. Copies should be made for the health care professional, and you should consider copying the files onto a thumb drive that can be stored at another location.