Challenge #5- How about your Affairs?

Challenge Day #5-

Are your Affairs in Order?

**I know this is a touchy subject.  But I thought after 4 days of food storage food and cold showers, (unless you were me or Deb!) you would be grateful to have everything working in your house!

**  Did you know that you can even put your facebook and  snapfish acct in your will? I wonder….e-harmony….how about ipod music and all the movies you bought on itunes!  That’s like a bazillion dollars in my house!!

** Seriously, without a will, some judge somewhere that you don't know is going to decide things like who the Executor of your estate will be (someone you may not know), who the guardian for your children will be, things that should be decided by  you the parents. Not just for families without children.  Families without children should have wills as well.  If you love your family and your spouse you will make a plan and not leave them here to grieve and to worry about their future as well.  

Cinderella 's life would have been different if her father had left a "WILL"!

So this is more of a thinking challenge….

Today’s challenge is for you to consider what would happen should you and/or your spouse pass away. This is something we don’t like talking about (or preparing for), however it’s VERY important. There’s no way to put this lightly – but do you have your affairs in order should something happen to you? We are always trying to prepare for natural disaster situations, and sometimes people don’t survive these scenarios. What would happen if you didn’t make it but the rest of your family did?

Today’s Goal: Get your legal/financial affairs in order in case you die

Today’s Limitations:

• For this day, and ALL days of the challenge: no spending money, no going to stores, and no restaurants.
• Since this is a planning day, there are no other limitations

Tasks-

. Print out two copies of this questionnaire and have each spouse fill it out. Typically one spouse does more of the bills/finances so this is an exercise to see what situation their spouse would be in should something happen to them.

·  Prepare a draft for a will if you don’t have one already

·  Make a list of all your assets for those you leave behind

·  If you have children, develop a plan for who will take care of them if you and your spouse passed away

·  Make lists of all the other things you would need/want surviving family to know

Spouse Family Financial Affairs Questionnaire

1.     Do you have a will?

2.     Do you know where a copy of your will is located?

3.     Do you have life insurance?

4.     Do you know how much life insurance you have on you and your spouse?

5.     Do you know where your life insurance policies are located?

6.     Do you know what company provides your home owner’s insurance?

7.     Do you know where your home owner’s insurance policy is located?

8.     Do you know what company provides your automobile insurance?

9.     Do you know where your automobile insurance policies are located?

10. Do you have any other insurance policies?

11. How many bank accounts does your family have?

12. What institutions do you have bank accounts at?

13. Do you know how to log in to all of your bank accounts online?

14. Do you know your bank account numbers and/or how to find them in your home?

15. Do you know how much money is in your general checking/savings accounts?

16. Do you know which bills are auto-­‐paid out of your checking account?

17. Do you know which bills need to paid with checks each month?

18. Do you know the balances on all of your credit cards and loans?

19. Do you know all of your open credit accounts and where they are located?

20. Do you know what your credit scores are?

21. Do you have any retirement accounts?

22. Do you know how much money is in your retirement accounts?

23. Do you know how to access your retirement accounts online?

24. Do you know how much you are currently contributing to your retirement monthly?

25. Do you have other investment accounts, stocks, etc.?

26. Do you know how to access your other investment accounts?

27. Do you know your family’s net worth?

Once you have answered these questions, give this paper to your spouse and have them put together a document for you that includes all of the information that you didn’t know. How did this make you feel? Would you be in a hard situation if your spouse died? Things will be hard enough in that situation without stressing about finances/bills as well.