I am sure that many of you are familiar with Dateline or the Investigation Discovery Channel and the many stories they cover of murders. Whether you watch these hour-long or two-part dives into these complex cases or not, you are probably familiar with how addicting they can be or how your friends or family members are hooked. The Dateline of today’s generation is true crime podcasts. With the surge in popularity of true crime podcasts, people’s minds are filled with stories of real-life serial killers, kidnappers, and other notorious evildoers in our world. One of the underlying themes, when someone goes missing, is that no one ever has access to the missing person’s files fast enough to find them before something truly devasting occurs. The notoriety of “the first 48 hours” is not just a dramatic catchphrase, the first 48 hours are extremely critical in an investigation of someone who has gone missing.
Now even though most of us will not be missing because of kidnap or murder, we do need to prepare our families for when we are “missing” because of our death or disability. Therefore it is a good idea to not only prepare your estate planning documents to protect you and your family in the event of incapacitation or death, but you should also prepare “an if I go missing file” to help your family increase their chances of locating the things that you know or are taking care of. The exercise of which can actually be excellent in creating a file that would be extremely helpful for someone to have access to in the case of your death or incapacitation as well. One of my favorite podcasts, Crime Junkie, introduced me to the idea of and emphasizes the importance of an “if I go missing file” and the producers of the show provide a downloadable version you can fill out. One of my friends once asked me why I wanted to fill it out and if I planned to go missing, my response: no one plans to go missing. Just as you likely are not planning your death or incapacitation, you still want an estate plan and to document the things you know that others in your family do not.
Okay, so what should go in your “if I go missing file” (or whatever you decide to name it)? According to the Crime Junkie file, here are some of the suggestions for information to include:
Account information – you will want to list accounts through which you could be tracked, like social media accounts, your bank account, credit cards etc. Leave log in information or point to where someone could find your master list of passwords. By leaving this information your family won’t have to wait for court permission to access your accounts.
The other account that it is super important for you to leave the login information for is your cell phone. We sometimes have information on our phones that may be helpful for our family
Writing all this information down and storing it in a secure location will also be super helpful in the case of your incapacitation or death. The sooner and easier it is for your loved ones to access this information the easier it is for them to handle your affairs.
Relationships – you want to list immediate family members like parents and siblings. If you are close with other family members listing them is wise too. You also want to write down your closest friends and name any people you have had a previous relationship with. If you can, providing contact information and last known residence is very helpful as well. This all will help your family contact important people in your life who may have important personal or professional information your family may need to know.
This list of people can also be useful if your loved ones needed to find you a donor quickly due to an illness that has you incapacitated or provides a list of people they might not think to call and inform of your passing. This takes some guesswork out of figuring out who is important in your life.
Other – While I only briefly touched on two categories of important items to include in your “if I go missing file”. There are other things to consider like listing your doctors, why you see them, and their contact information, just to name one. Talk with your estate planning attorney about their suggestions for information that your family would need to know in your death or incapacitation, and if you want to explore the podcast I mentioned, Crime Junkie, you can listen to their show and find their version of the file.
Once you have completed the file, you will want to keep it somewhere secure and make sure one or two people you trust know where to find it. Just as you fill out a durable power of attorney and a health care proxy so someone you trust can take care of your finances and see your medical wishes are met, “an if I go missing file”- (i.e. when I am incapacitated or deceased) provides some key information that can help your loved ones know more about your life, your accounts, and your assets.
Estate planning is all about planning for the when the unexpected happens, so why not add in an extra layer of protection and fill out an “if I go missing file”?
To learn more about other lesser-known estate planning or retirement tips, explore our blog! Ready to plan for the unexpected? Schedule your complimentary consultation today!
Even if you can’t take care of things yourself, there are strategies you can execute to ensure others are able to take care of themselves or help you when you are unable.
–By Heidi Cookson