Don’t wait until you are old and sick to write down your wishes and necessary actions upon your death, because you can unexpectedly breathe your last every day. Make an overview of all papers, income, bank accounts, etc. Because a death is already stressful enough, and you don’t want surviving relatives to have to dig through folders (on your PC) and binders shortly after your death. So make such a list now, even if it is not an official will or codicil.
The approaching end
If you know that you are going to die soon, you will also be busy, because a lot of things have to be arranged and noted down. Because you naturally want funerals, inheritances and other matters to be handled properly. The problem, however, is that a person can die unexpectedly at any time. So put things down on paper early, so that your young partner, brothers, sisters or parents are not unnecessarily burdened. Don’t wait until you are sick or very old. Register all that important data as soon as you have a partner or family, when you are still healthy and of sound mind.
Necessary data
What do you need to write down in a special booklet, or in digital form on a USB stick or external drive? What you want to write down depends on your personal circumstances and your own wishes. You can consider the following:
Personal situation
- All your personal details, name, address, dates of birth. From yourself and also from your family members and grandchildren.
- Overview of all important personal documents, such as passports, citizen service number, living will.
- Who all has a key?
- Data of important people.
Financial matters
- An overview of all bank accounts, investments, safe deposit box. Also consider associated usernames and passwords. Possibly in a veiled form, but understandable. And update that data from time to time.
- Personal loans, mortgage.
- Please note whether there are credit or debit cards.
- An overview of all insurance policies with policy numbers, old age provisions, pensions.
- Any funeral insurance.
Data regarding illness and old age
Wishes regarding assets if you are no longer able to manage your money due to illness or old age.
- So which persons should represent the financial interests and handle matters.
- Notarial issues.
- But also wishes and information regarding medical care.
- What matters in the medical field do you consider important?
Death information
- Wishes regarding the settlement of the estate.
- And the wishes regarding the cremation/burial (music, flowers).
- Which persons should be involved in the settlement?
- Is there an address list for the funeral circular?
- Is there a will, which notary?
- Can the body be made available to science?
Overview of your property
- Details of the purchase property (purchase contract, mortgage deed, etc.), rental property.
- Data about any companies, business partners.
- Indicate whether there is a codicil, i.e. a handwritten document with date and signature, in which it is noted which special things must be left to certain people. If it concerns jewelry or art, it must be indicated for each object who will receive it. This is not necessary for clothing and books. Money cannot be bequeathed by codicil.
Valuables
There is an overview of art, valuable possessions, appraisal reports. Share in undivided estate, a company. Assets abroad.
Other important matters
- What should happen to any awards, pets.
- Are there any digital businesses or accounts that need to be canceled or stopped?
- Photo files on the computer, e-mail addresses, possibly your own website.
- Is there any income in this area that will continue after your death, for example from Google AdSense.
- When do social media stop? And should there also be an obituary on Facebook, for example.
- An overview of all subscriptions, contracts with suppliers, memberships, hobby clubs.
Take some time to think about all these things together with your partner. And to be supplemented where necessary because there may be all kinds of individual exceptions to the points of interest in this article. Then it is a matter of keeping the personal list up to date. And don’t forget to make a note of where all those items, jewelry, USB sticks and papers can be found.