Important documents like your Will and life insurance plans need to be stored correctly so that they can be accessed shortly after death. Ensure your heirs receive their full inheritance by following our advice.
Coping with the loss of a friend or family member can be incredibly difficult. No one knows how they are going to react when a loved one passes. But one thing we can be certain of is that the task of finding key documents and additional important information can make the whole process a lot more difficult.
The documents that need to be accessed when someone passes:
There are a number of key documents that will need to be accessed when someone passes away, including their will, life insurance plans, bank account details, pension information, including any Sell My Annuity products, and share certificates.
If you haven’t stored these documents effectively, you could leave a family member with a stressful task on their hands while they try to guess where you would have put such information. It can also mean that some assets go undetected and your heirs do not receive their full amount of inheritance.
How are your beneficiaries meant to know about that life insurance plan you have paid for?
Picture this: you have paid for a life insurance plan in full. There are no more payments to be made; yet the plan still provides benefits. This could financially support your children or partner, yet they don’t know where the plan documents are, so they can’t claim anything.
This is the type of scenario we want you to avoid. It’s actually a lot more common than you may expect too. Did you know that insurance firms hold roughly $400 million of unclaimed monies in pension plans and life assurance that belong to plan holders, most of whom have passed away? This money could have benefited the deceased’s family, but they have no knowledge of the plan.
The situation is similar with banks around the world. The UK provides a good example of this. There is more than £1 billion in terms of unclaimed monies held by National Savings and Investments for missing account holders.
Get your affairs in order and make it easier for your friends and family
To ensure your family and friends do not need to search high and low for documents they don’t even know exist, get your affairs in good order. This will also give you peace of mind that your heirs receive their full inheritance.
Yes, it may seem like a long task and it is probably one that you will keep putting off, but getting all of your documents in order and storing them correctly is of huge importance. If you fail to do this, everything that you have worked hard for could end up in the wrong hands, instead of your loved ones. If you do one thing this year, set aside the time to sort out all of your important documents. You won’t regret it.
