In case of your death or disability, your trustee, executor, or financial agent needs to know where your assets are so they can take action to secure those assets and use them for your care.  If you have your financial documents stored digitally, your financial agents need to have access to that information.  Writing down your password to programs is not advisable, and passwords often change, but if you use a password manager, you can place the master password in a safe-deposit box that can only be accessed in case of your death or incapacity.  Otherwise, you could provide these passwords to your agents assuming a high level of trust.

If your documents are not stored digitally, your estate planning binder should contain instructions on where to find your financial information.  Sometimes, the easiest path is simply to point your agent to the key people that help you with your finances, including:

  • The contact information for your tax preparer or certified public accountant
  • Your primary banking relationship
  • Your certified financial planner
  • Your insurance agent

If you self-manage these investments and assets, you will need to provide clear instructions on how this information can be found.

Life insurance policies are particularly difficult to track, so keeping a list of your insurance policies, if they are not all kept with one agent, can be exceedingly beneficial.  Likewise, the same information is necessary for disability and long-term care insurance.

Finally, other key important documents that your agent or executor may need include:  the original of car titles, the location of any safe deposit box and the keys, storage units with keys and/or combinations and access codes, and descriptions of assets left in the care of any other person (e.g., gun storage facilities).

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, specific tax, legal or accounting advice. We can only give specific advice upon consulting directly with you and reviewing your exact situation.