Organize Your Assets in just 7 Simple Steps by Angela Oberer

Right about now, all of your neighbors, coworkers, and family are talking about getting back to the gym, paying off credit card debt and getting organized. And while those are impressive new years’ resolutions, what good is all of that, if you die unexpectedly this afternoon and the rest of your affairs are chaotic and muddled?

As morbid as it may sound, the lights will go out today on dozens of people around the country in car and motorcycle accidents, pedestrian, bicycle and alcohol related accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Among other health related issues, a recent bio-science study on American Heart Disease suggests that 2,500 Americans die each day of cardiovascular disease. So regardless of how you go, any day could be the day you morph out of this matrix.

Protect your family, your assets and your peace of mind, with these seven proven solutions that will put your affairs in order:

1. Create a will. Easy, Do-it-yourself software is available on the internet and for twenty to sixty bucks you can write your last will and testament distributing your assets to your loved ones. Check out www.StandardLegal.com or www.LegalZoom.com and WillMakerPlus by Quicken is available at www.Amazon.com  or your local bookstore.

1. Get life insurance. You can apply for a ten, twenty or thirty year term based on your age, and in the event that you die unexpectedly, your family will have enough money to pay off your debts so you don’t take negative financial karma with you to the grave. Other types of insurances are available as well, based on your health, medical history and savings goals. You can find the phone numbers of highly reputable companies and get quick quotes on the internet. Make sure you compare quotes on insurance before you buy. Check out:

AccuQuote: www.accuquote.com 800-442-9899

Quotesmith: www.quotesmith.com 800-431-1147

ReliaQuote: www.ReliaQuote.com   888-847-8683

• Make a list of all of your electronic and banking accounts, with websites, user names and passwords. I use a spread sheet that has 5 columns. You can create the same type of list in the software of your choice or even on a piece of lined notebook paper. Title your 5 columns with these headings: Company, User Name, Pass code, Account number, Purpose (for account). This will make it easy for family to easily sort through your accounts with proper access information should the need arise.

• Gather all of your important papers such as your birth certificate, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, adoption papers, business licenses, pension documents stock certificates, bonds and trusts, mortgages, deeds, auto and boat titles, promissory notes, security agreements, copies of your will, Life insurance policy, citizenship papers, passports, power of attorney etc. and put them in a safety deposit box. Make sure your most trustworthy family member has a copy of the key, or knows where you keep yours.

• Make computer backups of all important document files weekly. Keep your backups in your safe deposit box, or in a location away from your computer. Electronic messages, photo albums, and precious files can be completely destroyed by fire, flood, theft and even computer viruses. Having a current back up will guarantee a speedy recovery.

• If you don’t already have one, get a safety deposit box.  Local banks and credit unions offer box rentals for as little as ten to twenty dollars per year ensuring your valuables from harm. Include in your weekly errand run, a stop to the deposit box to drop off your latest important documents and computer back ups.

• Make amends and create peace with estranged family members, ex-spouses and enemies. It’s not easy to apologize for participation in arguments, gossip and anger, but doing so will clean the skeletons from your emotional closets and free your soul from the personal Halloweens that haunt.

Ask anybody who is terminally ill, what their biggest assets are and they will often tell you it’s the stuff money can’t buy, spouses, children, parents, siblings, and friends. The last thing you want to do when you check out is create burdens and resentment among those who mean the most. Take time today to organize your life so you’re free to really live.