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Sunday, January 11, 2009

Planning





While driving the AP-7 together with my wife, the thought occurred to me that in the event that we became involved in a fatal crash we had completely failed to give our son even one clue as to what to do after the police had delivered the news. So, I made a New Year’s resolution to write down for him the steps that he could take, and where to find things. Now that I have completed that list I would like to encourage each and everyone to do something similar.

As an exercise, whenever you see news footage of someone lying under the golden shroud in a scene on the highway, pause a moment to wonder what effect that will have on the family. We may not be able to control what happens to us, however there are some things that we can do to mitigate the effects of tragedy

To get you started the sort of things that your survivors will need to know go something. like this:

Who do I need to contact with this information? Ideally, there should be only one person per country that you can rely on to inform all relatives.
Who do I contact with this information in this country? Other than the obvious concerning disposal of remains, what companies and individuals must you contact?
How to go about cancelling accounts and realizing assets and settling amounts due to various creditors, including the government agencies.
Where are files and information to be found? This is not a time for a treasure hunt. There is quite enough stress already in your next of kin’s life. This part of the process should be made as simple as possible.
What about life insurance policies? Help with information as to where you have such assets would be most appreciated at this time. Otherwise, a trawl of every life insurance company in the world may be the only way to avoid leaving money on the table.
Where is your Will kept? It is so important to have a Spanish Will to cover your Spanish assets. Property held in other countries can be covered under Wills pertinent to those countries, but to die without a properly executed Will is to die In testate. That is a complicating factor that is not a very good thing.

As I got to thinking about the matter my mind got to wandering and I thought about those people who hide assets for the sake of tax evasion. Money in numbered accounts and tax havens may all be very well as long as the individual is able to access it during his lifetime, but when he dies, as he surely will do, after a reasonable period of time it must become the property of the bank. Whatever was held from the government becomes lost to the family plus more on top. In the end that becomes a fruitless exercise. Best just to pay the tax when due.

I do applaud the firms that sell burial plans because it does get us thinking about the end game. I’m taking the idea of planning to the ultimate degree until your estate is completely settled. Some people have even planned their own funereal program, including the songs to be sung. That’s fine with me, although I can choose the songs for you, but other things are strictly your provinces.

Finally, when going through with this we have to be realistic. We must consider that the chances that our information will be needed will be something near 100%. Therefore we do need to be thorough, and above all we need to be current. In undertaking such a task we can always be comforted in the belief that while the information will be used one day, that day may be a long way into the future.

Have a long, happy, healthy and prosperous life!

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael