Tips on getting your affairs in order

Like it or not, getting our affairs in order is one of the most caring things that can be done for loved ones. Here are some tips on getting those papers organized.

Attorney Gail Weiner Shearer recommends putting these items in a notebook:

1. Net Worth Statement: list all of your assets and liabilities.

2. Important contacts: list names, addresses and contact information for the lawyer, financial adviser, banks.

3. Insurance policies: list the names, addresses and contact information and type of insurance for all of the insurance policies.

4. Last wishes: type of burial, religious requests, memorial donations.

5. Key documents: list your wills, trust documents, deeds, title, original life insurance policies and where to find them. They don't have to be in a safe-deposit box at the bank. They can be kept in a fire safe at home, for instance.

6. Write a will if one doesn't exist and update as needed. When updated, keep the previous one just in case something happens to the new one. A will does not have to be done by an attorney and does not have to be filed at the courthouse when the person is still alive. Do keep possession of the original.

7. Review insurance beneficiaries. Insurance policies, retirement plans and individual retirement plans require a beneficiary to be named. The beneficiary may need to be changed if there is a divorce or the person has died or maybe a new child or grandchild needs to be added.