Here’s the thing about life: We’ll never know when it will be taken from us. One minute, we’re well and alive; the next minute, a freak accident takes our lives, leaving our families bereaved and confused. And here’s another thing that you need to know about life: Death leaves not only broken hearts but also financial hardships due to inaccessible and indecipherable files by the departed.
It’s true. Death means money. You need money to spend on the funeral services. You need money for the hospital bills. You need money to hire a property solicitor in Townsville or other cities to sell the house of the departed. If you’re one of the beneficiaries, you need to fix the assets and liabilities left to you.
At one point or another, you’ll wonder why these couldn’t have been fixed when your loved one was still alive. Why couldn’t your father or mother gather all the necessary documents in one place? Why do these documents need to be all over the place? Ask yourself this question: Do you have a death folder yourself? Do you have a file in your computer or a notebook where information about your insurance, properties, and liabilities is written down?
What’s a Death Folder?
Death is never an easy subject to discuss. It’s uncomfortable. But if you want to make sure that your family is well protected when something happens to you, this is a topic that you cannot leave undiscussed. A death folder is a compilation of all the information your family needs in the event of your death. It has information about the properties you have, your bank accounts, your last will and testament, and your liabilities.
A death folder aims to make it easy for the bereaved to take care of their loved one’s possessions. It can be in the form of a notebook containing all the necessary information, or it can be saved as a file on the computer. But here’s where another problem lies: How can you gain access to a loved one’s electronic files if you don’t know their passwords and credentials?
That’s why it’s still important to keep a notebook listing down the information your loved ones will need in case of your death. Just make sure that this notebook is stored in a safe and secure place that can be accessed only upon your death. Use this notebook solely to store information about your assets and liabilities and special wishes upon your death.
What Should Be in Your Death Folder?
These are the basic things that should be in your death folder: the contact number of your lawyer, a copy of your last will and testament, details of the relevant people to contact when you die, your insurance policies, a list of your possessions, bank account details, investments, and computer passwords.
Your loved ones must have access to your bank accounts and computers. If they don’t have the money for your funeral expenses, they can get the amount they need from your account (as long as they tell about it to the other beneficiaries). And to save time and hassle, let them know your computer passwords so that they can retrieve photos and delete social media accounts.
Make sure to update the information in your death folder. Every time you change your passwords, change the ones written in your death files, too. This will make it easy for your family to manage your assets and liabilities when something happens to you. Also, only entrust this death folder to someone you know has the best intentions.