How do I say this kindly? The chances of my husband outliving me are very slim due to his age and his diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. Because of this, I have slowly been moving all of our accounts into my name or making sure they are in both of our names with me as primary contact. At first it seemed cold, almost calculating, for me to take everything over and yet it is much easier for me to do it all now than it will be when something drastic happens.

I have run into situations recently that reinforced my need to take care of these things. We bought a car together 6 years ago. At the time, we told the dealership that I would be the only driver and took out a joint loan through a credit union yet everything was put in my husband’s name. I went in earlier this month to pay off the loan and close out the account only to be told that, while I could pay it off, he would need to be present to close it. In another case, I got to call our internet provider for service issues yesterday and they had to confirm the account with my husband’s phone number before talking with me. It seems everything with them is in his name even though I am the one they have been dealing with for years.

Needless to say, I am reviewing all of our accounts to make sure that I am the primary contact. I thought I had done this already but obviously not. I don’t want to have to face this after something happens, it is much easier to be as prepared as possible ahead of time. Should he pass before me, I want to be able to grieve without the added stress of financial worries, I owe that to both of us.