whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on May 19, 2011 22:14:12 GMT -5
My DH doesn't have a clue about any of our financial stuff. His big "plan" is to just wait for statements to show up in the mail and go from there. It would be a great plan if only we didn't have half of them as e-statements coming to MY email. I don't think he knows of it's existence Lena
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resolution
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Post by resolution on May 20, 2011 7:53:22 GMT -5
I have been paying everything electronically but all of our actual bills still come in the mail. DH would be able to use the check book to pay the bills so he would be OK. He may never find all of our assets though, since most of those have electronic statements. I have shown him where I have the websites bookmarked and I have a file with all the logins and passwords, but he loses interest part way through looking at them and has me tuned out by the end. Now that I think of it, some things like insurance I don't have in my file with the assets.
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Post by pig on May 20, 2011 7:56:00 GMT -5
The chances of needed long term care from an accident is .4%. I would hardly have an extensive plan for something that has such a little chance of occuring.
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Havoc
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Post by Havoc on May 20, 2011 8:00:43 GMT -5
What an alarming thread... In reading the responses and reflecting on our personal set-up, I think my Better Half would be in deep water if something happened to me where I was incapacitated. I handle pretty much all the finances for home, investments, rental props, etc. She knows where the checkbook is, she has credit and debit cards.... She would be able to track the paper expenses by going back thru the checkbook, but probably doesn't remember the o-line acct passwords. I will have to fix this by the weekend. And find a hiding spot in the house to put the compiled info... we seem to have a lot of people in our house, and the thougt of having people go through my financial files drives me nuts... And Dark - wrap Loop in bubble-wrap and don't let her leave the house until you learn/memorize that password!!!!
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Havoc
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Post by Havoc on May 20, 2011 8:03:38 GMT -5
The chances of needed long term care from an accident is .4%. I would hardly have an extensive plan for something that has such a little chance of occuring. I don't foresee it as being an extensive plan - just a list of expenses, accounts and how to access them in case of emergency, and making sure that DW, and mebbe one of my parents, knows where to access in case of death or disability. Sort of what I have in my "Croak" folder, only preferably something a little more updated...
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on May 20, 2011 8:22:14 GMT -5
The chances of needed long term care from an accident is .4%. I would hardly have an extensive plan for something that has such a little chance of occuring. People have strokes. And they aren't always old people either. And people sometimes die unexpectedly. I think a plan is a good idea.
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Post by pig on May 20, 2011 8:52:10 GMT -5
I don't foresee it as being an extensive plan - just a list of expenses That's all well and good but expenses change and sometimes rapidly....not worth trying to keep up with it. People have strokes. And they aren't always old people either. And people sometimes die unexpectedly. I think a plan is a good idea. I re-state that you less than a half percent chance of requiring long term care from an accident (medical accidents included) but obvioulsy not including old age (over 60) or so the actuarial tables say. Do you have a plan in case you're struck by lightning?
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on May 20, 2011 8:54:44 GMT -5
Do you have a plan in case you're struck by lightning? I don't have different plans for specific situations. I have easily accessible information for spouse or son in case I am incapacitated for any reason. I have a 1 in 1200 chance of having a house fire. I do carry fire insurance. My list of information/instructions didn't cost me more than a few minutes of my time.
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Post by soon2bmomof3 on May 20, 2011 9:02:57 GMT -5
I have a password protected spreadsheet that has most of our accounts (need to update), their websites, how they are paid and codes/hints to the passwords for those accounts. I have sent this spreadsheet to DH before and told him to keep it in his inbox or my docs folder, but he still doesn't and always asks me for the pw to stuff. If something were to happen to me...hopefully DH will remember the pw to the spreadsheet and be able to access all our accounts...hopefully
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kiskis
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Post by kiskis on May 20, 2011 9:22:30 GMT -5
My sympathies to all who have been in this situation. Definitely a valuable lesson learned.
DH and I keep a secured up-to-date physical list with all of our online login/account information. We are both pretty involved with our household finances. (DH does most of the bill paying, but I keep track of our expenses in our budget and let him know if any accounts are running low, so we communicate a lot.)
If DH and I were both in an accident, then it'd be tougher. We are pretty open about our finances with my in-laws, so I think they'd be able to muddle through. I'm sure some stuff would definitely fall through the cracks though. DH and I need to have a will drawn up soon now that we have kids. Just one of those things I keep putting off...sigh.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on May 20, 2011 10:19:57 GMT -5
I handle all the money, but DH knows all my passwords and where the accounts are, so I think he could muddle through in that sense. In the sense that DH is, well, DH, and would probably be a mess if I were incapped, not as certain. I should probably make a list of where things are, log in names, and passwords and send it to my mother as well as keep a hard copy (with pw hints instead of pws) in our financial files. Mom would most likely be the one to help DH out or do what needs to be done if something happened to both of us.
We have been through this. The MIL was in a terrible car accident and was unconscious and unresponsive (medically different from being in a coma, but its effectively the same thing) for six weeks. She was in long term care/rehab for another 6 months. DH knew where her living will was and that it names his aunt the decision maker. All of her bills came in the mail and she kept them in an expando file. They banked at a small credit union where people knew them both, so he was able to get access to her accounts right away. Later he had temporary guardianship in place that gave him the legal right to access anything and everything. However, we still had problems. Credit Cards don't have to send statements/payment coupons. We had a terrible time with American Express calling and refusing to deal with him, even after he faxed them the guardianship papers. They wouldn't tell him how much she owed and wouldn't send a statement. Finally, I answered the phone one day when they called and pretended to be her. I asked them to send a statement and they did. (And this would be why I will never have and American Express card.) Once the MIL woke up, we let the guardianship expire. However, we do have financial DPOA so that we can continue to handle all of her financial matters even though she's no longer incapacitated. (But there was minor brain damage that makes money handling very difficult for her.)
After my step-father's death, my mother put both my brother and I on all of her accounts, so that we could access them should something happen to her. I have financial and medical POA for her (brother is in Australia, so it makes sense for me to have it) and her roommate knows where she keeps everything. My mother is very organized, though, so if her roommate weren't around, I think I'd still be able to find everything. If something were to happen to my father and step-mother at the same time, I believe my step-sister would be the one in charge. For my brother, hopefully my mother knows enough, otherwise, he's out of luck.
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Post by pig on May 20, 2011 10:32:16 GMT -5
I have a 1 in 1200 chance of having a house fire. I do carry fire insurance.
Do they really have insurance for a residence that's just for fire or do you mean a general homeowners policy? I would not buy an insurance that only covered fire because the odds are really remote for my house catching fire. I do have a home owners policy that covers things I would be liable for plus accidental damage from things like fire and property damage from a host of other things which all added together have a pretty good chance of one of them happening in my lifetime.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2011 10:45:21 GMT -5
This is a good wake-up call for me. I run all the finances and DH would be pretty lost if I were out of the picture since so much is on-line. We have a safe in the house and I think I should set up a spreadsheet showing where everything is and what the passwords are, store them on a Zip drive and put them in the safe. Of course, I won't be able to get to it this weekend because I have a triathlon, so I hope I survive the triathlon!
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on May 20, 2011 10:49:25 GMT -5
I am single. I have my sister as signature authority on two bank accounts and POD on an account that I will be closing in July. I have given her the password to my computer in a sealed envelope not to be opened until necessary. As my nephew says, she follows rules and she won't.
I have the will, medical directive, financial power of attorney all set up.
I should make a more complete list for whoever may be left. The letter contains who to call to stop the pension, etc.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on May 20, 2011 11:22:04 GMT -5
I think I made our situation sound worse than it probably is. My husband knows where our checking account is - and he has a password to get on-line. If he doesn't, he could easily get a new one because he is the legal owner. Most of our bills still come in paper. I need the physcial reminder. Our mortgage is paid automatically, and everything else comes in the mail, so he would likely pay those.
If he and I were in the car together, I'm guessing that my Dad would pay all the bills out of his own pocket until one of us was lucid enough to croak out the words "Wells Fargo." But, I probably should document everything just in case.
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