Day 29 of the Legacy Notebook Series
Thanks so much for hanging out with me for this series. Week four is pretty much wrapped up.
Until commencing this blog series, I hadn’t updated our notebook for five years. It has been a little surprising just how much things have changed in those five years. It has taken me more time than I anticipated to get things updated, but I’m glad it’s done.
I’m using today’s recap to give a quick summary of the key action items for creating a legacy notebook. Use today to get caught up if there are items you skipped over and want to re-visit or items that are started but not yet finished.
- Gather your supplies (3-ring binder, sheet protectors, post-it notes, tab dividers)
- Start using a password management app to keep track of the usernames and passwords for your online accounts
- Summarize your banking info (here’s a worksheet-word or here-excel) and add recent bank statements to your notebook
- Summarize your investment info and add recent account statements to your notebook
- Add your credit card account information to the worksheet and add recent statements for each account to your notebook
- Gather up all your loan information (auto loans, student loans, mortgages, etc.) and add that to the notebook
- Make a list of your utility accounts and add them to your notebook (template in this workbook)
- Gather up all your insurance info (life, auto, homeowners, renters, LTD, LTC, health insurance) and add it to the notebook
- Make a note to let your loved ones know of your organ donor preferences
- Add your vehicle titles and any real estate ownership documents to your notebook
- Put your ID docs in the notebook (birth certs, marriage license, SS cards, passports, copies of driver’s licenses)
- Add your will and living trust, if applicable, to the notebook
- Draw up your advance medical directives and add them to the notebook
- Add your durable power of attorney to your legacy notebook
- Put your most recent tax return in the book, add any gift tax returns as well
- Make a list of any collectibles, heirlooms or special items that are important to you
- Write an explanatory letter to support your will
- Make notes about your final wishes (burial/cremation, funeral/memorial service, hymns, readings, etc.)
- Write keepsake letters to your most cherished loved ones
Happy Saturday!
thanks for reading,
Lesley
P.S. Looking for the rest of the series? You can find it here.
Stronger Wallet’s Legacy Notebook series information is intentionally general in nature and covers typical scenarios. You may have special circumstances that need to be considered. Always consult a trusted advisor before making big decisions about your financial legacy. Feel free to send me questions along the way at lesley[at]strongerwallet.com.
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The guide includes everything you need to get started: a cover sheet and divider pages to set up your notebook, an overview of each topic, checklists, worksheets, and writing prompts to guide you through the process.
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