Start making notes on personal items that you want to keep in the family whether it’s valuables or sentimental items. Discussed family now-ask if they want these things or not. If not, donate or ask around if anyone else wants.

Begin decluttering. I’ll suggest reading about Swedish Death Cleaning. Remind yourself that you are downsizing and get your home organized. Decide you don’t want to burden your survivors with your delayed decisions.

Anonymous wrote:Make sure that all of your brokerage account have a beneficiary. Also, for any bank accounts have a TOD ( transfer on death) set up so they don’t have to go through probate. Don’t put your name on your parents’ primary residence or brokerage accounts. You want to inherit those assets with the stepped up basis.

Second all this. Also consider getting something like this and going through it with your loved one. https://www.thenokbox.com/

If you have a simple estate, you can use Legal Zoom or something similar to create an advanced medical directive, will, and financial power of attorney. Just make sure to make a few originals and sign them in front of a notary ($5 each at the UPS Store). It's better to get something down rather than do nothing.

Create a When I Die folder that lays out all your accounts, insurance, tax information, wishes, key information someone would need if they had to pick everything up for you. Then make sure to have lots of conversations with the person or people you are appointing in the above documents. For the legal documents, you can keep originals with different people or in different places whom you trust. These conversations are especially key if you have benefits that others might not be familiar with like military benefits or long term care insurance. You can't expect a 40 year old to understand Medicare coverage/Social Security, either, so it's good to explain.

Not sure of your age, but it's also a good time to do financial clean up. Close old bank accounts, consolidate, try to put things on autopay, etc.

My parents pre arranged, pre paid and planned all details of their funerals.

My mom just died - outliving my dad 7 years and left notes about hymns, church arrangements, reminding us not to have a lengthy church service, etc. Such a gift.

Get all usernames, account numbers and passwords. Life insurance, car insurance, credit card and other debt info, brokerage account, pensions. Make sure you have a POA for medical and for financial. If you can set up everything online in advance- bill pay, account access, etc.

It’s helpful to have one smallish joint account and joint credit card so that anything that needs to be paid after death can come from that account and not the estate. I just find that less complicated. If there’s enough in that account to pay off any debts it’s easier to dole out the rest of the estate.

There was a woman who wrote a book/started a website ... something like Get your Shit together I think?

Yeah --

https://getyourshittogether.org

I would start there with her free checklists and just get everything organized. Then, lawyers.

Ask where is the deed to the house, the title to the car? Same for life insurance policies. Do they have a safe deposit box? Take her there and close it out. You can place those items in a fire box.

There's a good book on Amazon - I'm dead, now what? - that gives you a good inexpensive place to get started.

Make sure that all of your brokerage account have a beneficiary. Also, for any bank accounts have a TOD ( transfer on death) set up so they don’t have to go through probate. Don’t put your name on your parents’ primary residence or brokerage accounts. You want to inherit those assets with the stepped up basis.

Short of seeing an attorney, which are $$$ (may get to that but want to see what I can do first to get affairs in order for parents and us). Things like wills/advanced directives, will obv need a lawyer. What about the "other things" that would be helpful to have resolved or in order?