Making a Death Dossier
JULY 11, 2011 TAGS:
The Wall Street Journal imparted a bit of useful advice last week in the story, "Designing Your Death Dossier:" make sure your wills, advance directives, insurance policies and any other important documents are stored together in a safe place in case of emergency. What's even more important, says the WSJ, is to let someone know where those documents are and how to access them.
Most experts recommend creating a comprehensive folder of documents that family members can access in case of an emergency, so they aren't left scrambling to find and organize a hodgepodge of disparate bank accounts, insurance policies and brokerage accounts.
You can store the documents with your attorney, lock them away in a safe-deposit box or keep them at home in a fireproof safe that someone else knows the combination to.
While this might seem like pretty obvious advice, a lot of people don't put their affairs in order before emergency or illness strikes. Having a file cabinet or fire-proof box that houses advance directives or estate plans necessitates that those documents exist, that people go to their accountants, consult with their doctors and talk with their families about end-of-life issues or even pre-planned funeral arrangements.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services less than "30 percent of Americans, including those with chronic disease, have advance directives."
Wills, trusts and estates are generally accessible through lawyers and accountants, who on the occasion of a death act in accordance to what those documents say. An advance directive is different insofar as it becomes an active document while the person in question is still alive.
Part of the Dept. of Health and Human Services study also found that only 15-22 percent of Americans had any record of the advance directives on their medical charts. That's well below the 30 percent who claim to have advance directives.
The lesson? Not only should people make advance directives and keep it safe and accessible, but you should also share it and make sure its enforced. Perhaps along with a Death Dossier, a Doctor Dossier should be at-the-ready, to instruct doctors who might not otherwise follow your directions.
Related:
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Mad Men's Brush with Death
When Don Draper's father-in-law sits down to have "the talk," Mad Men delves into generational differences regarding death.
Most experts recommend creating a comprehensive folder of documents that family members can access in case of an emergency, so they aren't left scrambling to find and organize a hodgepodge of disparate bank accounts, insurance policies and brokerage accounts.You can store the documents with your attorney, lock them away in a safe-deposit box or keep them at home in a fireproof safe that someone else knows the combination to.
While this might seem like pretty obvious advice, a lot of people don't put their affairs in order before emergency or illness strikes. Having a file cabinet or fire-proof box that houses advance directives or estate plans necessitates that those documents exist, that people go to their accountants, consult with their doctors and talk with their families about end-of-life issues or even pre-planned funeral arrangements.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services less than "30 percent of Americans, including those with chronic disease, have advance directives."
Wills, trusts and estates are generally accessible through lawyers and accountants, who on the occasion of a death act in accordance to what those documents say. An advance directive is different insofar as it becomes an active document while the person in question is still alive.
Part of the Dept. of Health and Human Services study also found that only 15-22 percent of Americans had any record of the advance directives on their medical charts. That's well below the 30 percent who claim to have advance directives.
The lesson? Not only should people make advance directives and keep it safe and accessible, but you should also share it and make sure its enforced. Perhaps along with a Death Dossier, a Doctor Dossier should be at-the-ready, to instruct doctors who might not otherwise follow your directions.
Related:
Mad Men's Brush with DeathWhen Don Draper's father-in-law sits down to have "the talk," Mad Men delves into generational differences regarding death.
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