For working couples, navigating the unknowns of life can be easier when you feel prepared. One way you can feel more prepared is by organizing your family’s financial and estate details. You can also summarize key professional relationships and contact information. All in a single place. You don’t need complex software or a specialized service. Learn one approach to organizing your key details in a single document. Create a guide designed to help keep your family on track if you are no longer around.
Learning Points
Why You Want to Create Your ‘In Case of Emergency’ List
Whether you are planning to take a long-awaited anniversary trip, traveling for work, or running to and from your child’s sports practices and school events, it takes planning and execution to look out for your family while you’re on the go.
In my experience, couples tend to naturally split different household responsibilities based on individual strengths and interests.
For example, one spouse might be in charge of scheduling the kids’ doctor appointments, organizing carpools, and spearheading the household finances. While the other spouse, for example, deftly manages the grocery shopping, sports signups/calendars, and plans the next family get together/holiday celebration.
And so, this natural divide-and-conquer approach can lead both spouses to have a clearer understanding of certain parts of the whole household picture. Together, you’ve got this. You support one another, provide opportunities for personal and professional growth, and act like a true team.
It also means you might be fuzzy on the details and how to get up to speed on the specifics.
What happens if you are the spouse who primarily takes the lead organizing the family’s financial life, and you unexpectedly pass away, or are incapacitated?
One practical way you can help look out for your family is to capture key details about your family’s professional relationships, estate planning documents, and financial accounts in a single, comprehensive place.
Read on and explore one approach to the ‘In Case of Emergency’ list. Adapt it to the details of your own family.
How to Start Getting Organized? Consider Starting Here.
One strategy to consider for any large problem is to break it down into its component parts. Work backwards from an ideal solution and build in robustness and flexibility. It also helps to keep things simple.
You can apply this approach by concisely organizing the key details of your family’s financial situation, network of professionals, and estate plan.
This is your ‘In Case of Emergency’ inventory/list.
Specifically, you can use it to organize and communicate key details in your ‘In Case of Emergency’ inventory like:
- Legal, financial, and accounting professionals
- Healthcare providers
- Estate documents
- Insurance policies
- Banking, loan and investment accounts
- Daily household finances
- Income sources
It’s an Excel file that provides a customizable framework based on your personal situation. It is not meant to be the only way to capture and organize this information. A word processing file or a hand-written piece of paper could also work well.
The template is meant to provide you with a simple, yet robust tool, to do the following:
- Start getting organized now.
- Make it easier for you to collaborate with your spouse on these details.
- Simplify how you maintain these key details.
If you would like a refresher on some of the terms and concepts contained in the template, here are some additional educational resources to help get you on track.
Consider storing a physical copy of your ‘In Case of Emergency’ inventory with your estate documents.
Once you have everything organized, consider whether you can further simplify your financial life by automating your saving.
Storing Your ‘In Case of Emergency’ List More Securely
If you choose to store your ‘In Case of Emergency’ inventory digitally, consider using password-protection and locating it on an encrypted system. Preferrable not on your computer that’s connected to the internet.
It’s also worth looking into using an encrypted, external hard drive.
Here are some other tools and techniques to evaluate for your specific situation.
Password Managers
After you’ve completed your ‘In Case of Emergency’ inventory, reflect on how many online accounts your family uses and maintains. Chances are, you have quite a few online accounts.
If you are not already using a password management tool, there’s never been a better time to start using one. Adding a password manager and enabling multifactor authentication on all of your accounts can bolster your overall security.
If you’re unsure about password management tools, here’s a good primer covering the basics.
Multifactor Authentication
According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), “multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a strong authentication method. It requires two or more factors to gain access to the system. Each factor must come from a different category above (e.g., something you know and something you have). MFA may be referred to as two-factor authentication, or 2FA, when two factors are used.”
MFA requires you to enter your normal password and provide a second piece of information. For example, an authentication app provides a unique, time-specific numeric code. An online service’s MFA could require you enter a code sent via text message or use facial recognition before the service grants you access.
If your password became compromised, bad actors would then also need to gain access to your authentication service before gaining direct, user-level access to your account. Here’s some more MFA information from the CISA team.
Note that if you have the option to use “phishing resistant” MFA like FIDO or Public Key Infrastructure-Based, that will be preferrable to SMS or Voice based MFA.
Pay it Forward
Once you’ve thought through and built your ‘In Case of Emergency’ inventory – consider helping a family member or a close friend get organized.
Share what you’ve learned, where you’ve “stubbed your toe”, and how you’ve approached organizing and securing your ICE inventory.
Share a sanitized version of your ‘In Case of Emergency’ inventory or a link to the original template
The Next Step
Hopefully this overview and customizable resource provides you with a strong starting framework to get and stay organized.
Sometimes we only need a little nudge to get unstuck. Sometimes we need accountability. We can all benefit from those little doses of accountability in our lives. Sometimes we can hold ourselves accountable, and other times we need to be held accountable to ourselves by others.
Working with your financial planner in Saint Louis can provide you with the right mix of accountability, collaboration, and long-term thinking.
Sometimes, a financial planner can help you get un-stuck by simplifying what you need to do into manageable goals.
As your financial planner in Saint Louis, we can help you plan for the future and enjoy the present moment.
Start feeling more confident that you are making progress toward getting your financial life organized and know what you need to do to keep your family’s financial life on track.
Proactive and open collaboration with your financial, tax, and estate planning professionals can help you work towards your financial goals. Working with your financial planner in Saint Louis can provide you with the right mix of accountability, collaboration, and long-term thinking.
If you’re unsure about your next step, let’s talk.
Disclosure
This commentary is provided for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and may become outdated or otherwise superseded without notice. Investors are advised to consult with their investment professional about their specific financial needs and goals before making any investment decision.