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Grab n Go Emergency Kit

Oct 18 2012 |

 

The Legacy Drawer® is not the only item you may need in an emergency. 

 

   

Disaster Preparedness

Oct 07 2012 |

 

 Disaster preparedness includes throwing a few items together to be prepared for quick evacuation.  The Legacy Drawer® document organizer binder can be a great addition. 

 

A few years ago, we filed a death claim on a client who had died.  That’s when we discovered that he had collaterally assigned the policy to his ex-wife to cover his debt to her following the divorce.  He had repaid all the money but had never gotten the assignment released. 

His current wife needed the money to take care of their business obligations.  But she could not collect the benefit without either proving the money had all been paid to his former wife or getting the previous wife to sign a release.  This situation could have been easily resolved if the policyholder had taken the time for a regular review of his insurance.

We recommend making a list of insurance policies including information such as amount of coverage, beneficiary, and other important data.  There is a form for listing this in The Legacy Drawer binder which is also an excellent place to organize all your personal and financial documents. 

Many people cause one problem by trying to fix another.  One example is with the addition of an additional co-signer on a bank account.

For example, Mary wanted to be sure that if something should happen to her, her friend would be able to cash a check on her account.  So, she changed her account to a joint account with her friend as the additional owner/signer. 

What she doesn’t realize is that she actually gave her friend the right of survivorship even though according to her will, she intended for her children to inherit the account.  With the right advice, she would have only added her friend as an additional signer, but with no right of survivorship. 

 I am a financial advisor and I often give my clients a copy of "The Legacy Drawer".   The Legacy Drawer binder is the perfect place to keep their important information and documents well organized. 

A couple of years ago, a client came in following the death of his wife who had lost a long battle with cancer.  We discussed the probate process and what would be required in collecting information, transferring assets, etc.  Before he left I have him a copy of the binder and made suggestions for organizing all the information he would be needing.

A few days later, he came in the office and told me the following story:  He said that when he got home he put the binder on the kitchen cabinet and went to bed.  When he got up the next morning he was surprised to see the binder on his wife's dresser.  And he was even more surprised when he opened it up and saw that the data pages had been completed in his wife's handwriting. 

Then he went into the kitchen and found that the organizer binder I had given him was still there.  He discovered that his wife had asked one of his office assistants to pick one up from my office a few months earlier. 

Neither of us could hold back the tears as we pictured that dear sweet lady using the last ounce of her strength to make things easier for him.

For Love of Family

Sep 04 2011 |

 Money management guru Dave Ramsey recommends designating a special drawer or place to store important documents that would be needed in case of emergency.  He says that one of the best ways to show love for your family is to have your financial act together and organized in a central location.

The Legacy Drawer binder helps to do just that. Besides being a great organizer to keep your information handy for your own use, it also relieves the stress on your family by making it easier for them if you were to become sick, disabled or die. 

One of the major reasons young couples need to make a will is to establish guardianship for minor children.  In addition they can provide for the establishment of a trust to manage the children’s inheritance and provide for the children’s financial needs.

However, little attention is given to the additional burden placed on the guardians.  For example:  Is the guardian’s home large enough for the increase to their family?  Can the guardian afford to pay for expenses in advance and then request reimbursement from the trust?  What accounting burden is placed on the guardian regarding simple purchases such as additional food, eating out, fuel, utilities, etc.?

Be sure to discuss these things with your financial advisor and attorney to determine how they might best be addressed in your case.  The solutions vary based on family size and financial situation.

As a side note to parents, if you have not already prepared child ID information, it can be done quickly and easily and could be of enormous help in case of emergency.  Check with your local law enforcement office to see if they prepare child ID kits.  Or, you can obtain an inkless fingerprint ID kit prepared by the National Child Identification Program through the products page of this website.

 

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  • Grab n Go Emergency Kit   Disaster Preparedness