By the time my dad gave up his condo for an independent living facility in his late eighties, he had whittled down his financial records so that they fit into one loose-leaf notebook plus a manila folder. Currently, my financial records fill a four-drawer filing cabinet in the basement. Tax returns for the last three years – and supporting documents – are stacked on top of the cabinet because they do not fit within. I’m clearly not following in my dad’s footsteps – yet. This story is my first foray into that arena. It outlines the first three steps I am taking. I told my son I’m not sure if I am thinking about moving or if I am thinking about dying, but I have begun to clean house, more ominously known as getting my affairs in order.
Following in Dad’s Footsteps, I’m Streamlining My Finances
Why do I have so many financial records? Because my investments were sprawled across six different investment firms. Anyone who has had several jobs in their lifetime could be in this situation, owning a different retirement account with each past position. Multiple accounts mean multiple statements like the ones filling my file cabinet. To reduce this five-fold, I picked the firm that had been most responsive in the past – they meet with me twice a year in person – and consolidated all six accounts into just one.
According to Principal Financial, a member of the FORTUNE 500, there are many perks to consolidation. Whereas all my advisors had been good, none knew my total financial picture. I had six little investment vessels out in the vast ocean instead of one big boat with a captain to steer. How did I expect my ship to come in using that strategy? Additionally, multiple investments meant multiple decisions, fees, emails, etc. And it appears that some people lose track of old retirement accounts altogether when they forget to change their address after making a move. And let’s face it, with the possibilities of downsizing, independent living, assisted living, and the like, there might be a few moves in my future.
As an added bonus, there is a perk for my kids. When I die, they have one account to liquidate, not many. And speaking of the kids…
I’m Doing a Review: Will My Will Work or Won’t It
I created my estate documents in 1994. At the time, my kids were 18, 16, and 11. In my documents, I listed legal guardians for them in the event of my death. I named and instructed executors – my parents – to distribute the principal from my estate to my kids in three chunks, one third when they were 30, one third at 35, and one third at 40.
On their birthdays in 2021, my kids will be 45, 43, and 38. They don’t need a legal guardian. My ages for distribution are moot. My parents are dead and unable to administer the estate.
Clearly, estate documents need to be updated regularly. Patting myself on the back, I’ve actually made revisions in 2003 and 2011. Even so, ten years is a long time since the last one. I need a do-over of documents.
According to the National Institute on Aging there are four important items for me to update. A will and/or trust is needed to distribute my money and property after I die. There are also “advance directives.” One of the advance directives is a living will. It allows me to state what kind of care I want – or don’t want – in the event I become too sick to make decisions. Another advance directive is a durable power of attorney for healthcare. It allows me to name the person who will make healthcare decisions for me when I cannot. Finally, I need to name a durable power of attorney to act on my behalf for any legal matter if I am unable to make decisions on my own.
And Finally, I Am Tackling ALL THE STUFF
I have lived in my four-bedroom home for twenty-seven years, and accumulated a lot. Where do I start? Actually, it makes no difference. It all has to be done, so I can jump in anywhere. I choose my highly visible collection of books.
There are three bookshelves in my living room. In total they contain fourteen shelves. Each shelf has a complete row of books and then on top of that row are more books. My first goal is to get rid of the toppers. I know that if I were moving, I would lug-along almost none of these books, and yet, they are hard to part with. So far, I have given away sixteen books and five shelves are topper-free. I laugh at myself, forgive myself, and congratulate myself. It’s a start.
In my next blog, I’ll get back to sorting through ALL THE STUFF with five great tips. Until then, here’s a motivating story:
On Sunday, July 4th, I had numbness in my foot and a pain in the arch that I was sure indicated a blood clot. I wondered if I should go to the Little Clinic at Kroger or to the emergency room. I was miffed because it was not convenient to go anywhere until after the holiday on Tuesday. And then I laughed to think that death could likewise hit me at an inconvenient time and that I need to have my affairs in order. My thoughts immediately turned to all the “embarrassments” that exist at my house (journals!). Why haven’t I gotten rid of those? I vowed that if I lived, I would.
I did, and I am.
*****
If you like this story, you will like other things I have written. Please try:
- My blog
- My new book, Love, Loss, and Moving On
- Or my latest book review: Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson.
- Thank you!
I’m in the process of doing exactly what you are talking about. We did some of the steps about eight years ago. We are now feeling the necessity of finalizing these steps. As you know Lorie, I’m ten years ahead of you so I need to get cracking. I really enjoyed what you have said and look forward to your pearls of wisdom concerning future steps.
Betty
Hi Betty. In the couple of weeks since I wrote this story, a bunch of people have spoken to me about the topic. Great minds think alike! (Or perhaps it’s old minds that think alike…)
Lorie,
What a wise words and great resources. As always, thanks for sharing your thoughts and research. You definitely have the big picture in mind which is very helpful for me. I tend to get bogged down in small details. I will be looking to your future blogs on this subject to help me expand my planning.
Glad this helped you, Roberta! When it posted today, it helped me too. I wrote it a few weeks ago and was gung ho for cleaning stuff out and then I paused. Well, reading it again today, I got back to my cleaning. Hard work! Easy to put off until tomorrow!!!
Thanks Lorie for writing this all down so I can read a second and even a third time to let it all sink in. I appreciate the insights! I like you are approaching an age in which we have to make the hard decisions I can’t wait until it is complete.
Hi Didi. Thanks for reading and commenting. I think this one will hit home for many in our age group. Even the younger folks – like my kids – need to think of the various “documents” for the sake of their children. I agree, though, can’t wait until these tasks are complete.
Great tips and reminders, Lorie! I especially enjoyed the part about “inconvenient” dying on the way to the Little Clinic! When our daughter was visiting recently, she helped me clean my closet, and several years worth of receipts were dumped. It was scary, but maybe I can tackle those boxes in the storage room. Whaddaya think?
Boxes in the storage room sound like a great next step! You can do it, Vera! I did some more cleaning out yesterday and some old paperwork looked so “official” I had to work hard to figure out if it was important. It wasn’t. I shredded it – and saved my kids the headache of figuring it out someday when I am gone.
Good thoughts. And when updating your will, don’t forget about your literary estate. You have one of those, too. 🙂
Oh my! That’s very flattering! I have a literary estate?! I’ll talk to the attorney about that! Thanks for suggesting this. By the way, for other writers who follow me, a quick search turned up this info on the topic of a literary estate: https://www.sidebarsaturdays.com/2017/12/02/https-wp-me-p7vddb-xu/
Ok this one was a little morbid. Not my favorite blog post 😜 But, let me peruse your bookshelves before you give more away!!
YES! Come over! Take away books. Can’t wait!
Hi Lori,
I’ve been working on this for five years. My late husband collected “stuff.” What I now know is that I should have taken a picture of the item and married it to its receipt. Then filed it with all other purchases. Now, I’ve been liquidating stuff for years. And, in September, a big bunch of Asian, mostly Chinese, will go to auction.
Then I’m left with over a thousand art books which will go to auction next year. I started with 20 plus different collections. Sold most…but still have unsold items to dispose of. Perhaps by 2023.
I did a trust in 2014 and have made changes to it. I try to keep up with the changes with my attorney and tax person. In addition to a directive, google Five Wishes, a blue book in which you state your wants/needs in your final years/months of life.
My shredder has been going non-stop. I started 6 weeks ago with 100+ banker boxes. I’m now down to maybe 60 boxes. My goal is to shred, toss and delete all the boxes, so that next year I can go thru all the
slides. Never ending, but, if left to my daughter, she’d just throw everything out!
Thanks for this great testimonial, Eileen! While most people don’t have as much stuff as it sounds like you do, we all still have a lot of stuff. AND we need to deal with it so our loved ones don’t have to and so that our loved ones don’t throw away important/valuable items. Thanks also for telling me – and my readers – about Five Wishes. And finally, it’s so nice to hear from you. Thanks for writing.