My husband and I have discussed this before, and we have all the correct documents in place so either of us will be protected financially when the other dies. We addressed what should happen if we both went at once, how our children should divide our assets. We shared our plans with our children including copies of all documents for each of them. They have contact information for the attorneys who helped us in case they have questions. What we don’t have is a comprehensive list of what to do and who to contact when one of us does die, we don’t have an end of life roadmap.

We each have multiple sources of retirement income as well as investment accounts. We both are active on social media and have accounts that would need to be closed or deleted. There are checking accounts and credit cards that are connected to automatic bill payment programs. There is real property in both of our names and shared debts. I don’t want either of us to have to think about how to take care of all of this during a time of grief. Hence, we need a map to follow.

 Life is complicated, death even more so. Beyond funeral planning, what else needs to be done? I googled “Put my house in order” and found several documents that consolidate all the information needed in a clear format that could be downloaded for free. I also came across a document on the National Institute on Aging website called Getting Your Affairs in Order that outlines steps I need to take to get things started. I don’t want to leave a mess behind when I go nor do I want to be caught in that same mess should my husband go first. Now is the time to do whatever I can to make sure we are ready for end of life challenges no matter which one of us is left behind to deal with them.