The Essential Organizer

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Benefits of Using The Essential Organizer

Gives reassurance that you and your loved ones will be cared for in the manner you intend
Provides guidance for maintaining the family home when you’re not there
Serves as a way to start important family conversations
Facilitates the settlement of your estate and minimizes legal and financial fees
Reduces the time and effort your family must spend searching for essential information during a stressful period

The Choice

A volunteer at a Boston area hospice tells of witnessing the stress so many families face when, at an already fragile and vulnerable time, they have little idea what the wishes of their loved ones are, either for their own care or for the handling of their estates. Will your family have a similar experience? Or will they be clear about your preferences and easily find the information they need to make necessary decisions? Having this information will reduce the distress they will feel if critical documents can’t be found, preferred arrangements are unknown, and key advisers can’t be located.

Are you willing to take the time to write down essential information, such as:

The location of legal documents, financial records, and computer files
What it takes to maintain your home and how to reach key service providers
Your preferred arrangements should you become disabled and when you die
Names of family, friends, and key advisers and their contact information

How to Use This Book or CD

Each chapter in the printed book and CD contains worksheets with spaces which you may fill in with information related to items that are important to you. Such items might be, for example, estate planning documents, retirement accounts, deeds to property, home service providers, medical treatment, and information about your immediate family. A sample table, shown below, is a place to record the names of key documents, their locations, and the names of people whom your family could contact for more information. You may enter this information with a pencil or pen or by using your computer.

“The middle aged brother of a friend of mine recently died of a massive heart attack. He was not married, and no one has any idea about his financial state. It’s too late, of course, but I believe that had he known about and used ‘The Essential Organizer’, this crisis for his family could have been greatly diminished. But I guess none of us believe we’re going to die – that only happens to other people.” — K. Bowdler

The Essential Organizer is the perfect companion to your estate and financial planning.