What is the difference between the Estate Care Organizer and the documents prepared with an attorney?
The documents prepared with an attorney and/or financial advisor (such as Wills, Trusts, Advance Directives or Powers of Attorney) provide the AUTHORITY to manage the estate or care of a loved one or friend, but they don't provide the INFORMATION required to do the job.
After completing the authority documents with an attorney, the Estate Care Organizer will assemble all the information necessary to do the job of managing a loved one's estate or care.
What information do I need to provide?
A consultation will determine what estate care organization you need most, then a "homework" list of information to gather will be provided.
The types of essential estate information may include address book, email contact list, copy of wills, trusts, directives and Powers of Attorney (POA's), location of birth and marriage certificates, bank statements, tax records, real estate and other property listing, insurance policy information, and other information needed in the event of accident, illness or death.
Essential care information may include medical or heath history, pet care, key household contact list, in the event of illness or extended travel.
How will my information be kept private/confidential?
Consultations may be held in your home or other secure location. Your personal records may be scanned to an external drive (not stored on a computer accessible to the internet) and remain locked after business hours.
The final Estate Care Organizer can be provided in a binder and/or stored electronically with password protected files on a USB drive that can be copied and provided to key family members for safekeeping.
Does the Estate Care Organizer need to include how much my estate is worth? (I'm concerned about that information being disclosed.)
No financial dollar values are need for the main Estate Essentials and Care Essentials sections. There are two reason why:
1) The only dollar values that matter for an estate are the values of all accounts and property on the date of death. Those values will have to be determined when that time comes, not when the Estate Care Organizer is prepared.
2) The most important things for loved ones and estate executors to know are WHOM to contact, WHAT exists and WHERE to find key documents and all other information. Otherwise, managing/probating an estate can be the longest, most cumbersome, least fun game of hide and seek your loved ones will ever "play."
Some financial information will be needed if you select the Additional Service Option of having a Long Term Care Income/Expense proforma prepared. This will provide a "snapshot in time" to help determine your possible LTC options given your income, expenses and savings.
Does any information need to be notarized?
Information for the Estate Care Organizer does not need to be notarized. Documents that may require notarization are those that you will consult with an attorney to prepare (Wills, Trusts, Directives and Powers of Attorney).
How do we keep the Estate Care Organizer updated?
The information in the Estate Care Organizer should be updated anytime you have changes (new or discontinued accounts, new contacts, birth, death, marriage, divorce, etc). At a minimum the Estate Care Organizer should be reviewed annually. An easy time to remember to review is around New Year's or tax time.
Minor updates can be written in the binder, and also updated on the USB stored Word files. You may also contact Walsh-Copeland Consulting to facilitate updates at an hourly rate.