If Now Is THE Time, Then Why Wait

 

So many unsettling things going on in the world today.  For many years, I thought of the “things” as being remote from me.  Not now.  Those “things” are at home. 

Fortunately, my family is fine.  Some of my friends, however, have had experiences with loss- job, family members, housing, etc.  It’s during this time of “what if” we have the opportunity to become prepared for lessening the burden on our family/friends.  Whoever will have the responsibility of dealing with our declining health, our material possessions, our wishes, needs to know what we are thinking.

So, this goes back to my original topic of so many years ago- wills, powers of attorney, lists of important documents, and the courage to identify one person who knows where you keep your papers.

The AARP Bulletin of November 2020 highlights these important agenda items:  creating a will, living will and durable power of attorney;  having a conversation with your family or friends about your wishes about health care should you become incapacitated; getting an understanding of the estate laws in your state; choosing your agents ( the person (s) who will carry out your wishes) based on their qualifications not what you think you should do or what is expected for you to do; seriously considering dividing your estate equally among your children unless there are strong reasons not to; and remembering you can always change your documents- you may have to if you move out of state or your beneficiary or agent becomes incapacitated or dies.

AARP offers these suggestions:

Free services- Cake (JoinCake.com) or FreeWill (FreeWill.com)

Low-cost services- Gentreo (Gentreo.com), Quicken WillMaker &Trust by NOLO (NOLO.com), Trust &Will (TrustAndWill.com/AARP)

Pro Bono Legal Advice- law school clinics in your state- search “elder law clinic in…” and Legal Aid (LSC.gov)

Tell me what you think.  Have you taken action during the pandemic?  Did you have THE conversation with your family?

SHREDDING

While I’ve discussed this before, March seems like a good time to review the topic.  As we “do our taxes” we often are left with a mountain- at least a small hill- of papers, receipts, etc.  The Federal Trade Commission has a list of items to be shredded and to be retained.  Go to FTC.gov and search for “shredding”.  And if you don’t want to do that, here’s the list:

Shred immediately:  sales receipts, ATM receipts, paid credit card statements, paid utility bills, credit offers, cancelled checks that are not tax related, and expired warranties.  Comments:  I save receipts until I’m sure I don’t have to return anything- even grocery store receipts.  And I also save utility bills until the end of the year.  I recycle credit card offers- EXCEPT the page with my address. This I tear up immediately.  Note:  If you want to stop receiving credit card offers, visit https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t and complete the form.  You can opt out for 5 years or permanently.

Shred after a year: pay stubs, bank statements, and paid, undisputed medical bills.

Shred after 7 years:  tax-related receipts, tax related cancelled checks, W-2s and records for tax deductions taken

Shred car titles after you sell your car(s); shred home deeds after you sell your house(s); shred improvement receipts after your sell the home and pay capital gains taxes.

Keep forever in a safe place (one that is made known to a trusted person): birth certificates, social security cards, marriage or divorce decrees, citizenship papers, adoption papers, death certificates, tax returns.  I also include wills, instructions after death, power of attorney, and other important documents. 

Hope everyone in the US has an easy time with their tax prep.  May you have a lovely refund!!