Key Documents to Share With Heirs

published 4 October 2013

To ensure that your heirs have easy access to your financial life, leave them a road map. These documents can be stored online (Amy Goyer, a home-and-family expert at AARP, recommends AboutOne.com or Dropbox.com), as long as you share your log-in and password with your kids, but keep a paper copy in a safe place in your house. Worried about burglars or prying eyes at a cocktail party? Stash all the paperwork in a plain binder and tell your heirs where to find it.

The Family Money Talk You Must Have

Financial accounts. With online banking and bill payments, it's easier than ever to move money around but harder for your heirs to find out what's where. Prepare a list of all your accounts (bank, credit card, investment and retirement), as well as household bills and insurance (health, home and auto), and update it once a year. The list should include account numbers as well as log-ins and passwords.

Legal documents. Give a copy of your wills, trusts and powers of attorney (financial and health care) to anyone named or authorized to act on your behalf, and store the originals at home; otherwise, your children could have trouble getting them at the critical time. Use any major life change as an opportunity to review these documents and update them, if necessary.

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Your team. From your tax guy to your financial planner and attorney, these folks know what's going on with your money and your estate plan and can help heirs later on. List names, contact info and what they do for you. Even better: Introduce your kids to them. "If you're going to build this beautiful plan with your advisers, your kids should meet with them," says Doug Orton, a vice-president with money-management firm MFS. After you're gone, your children will be more comfortable working with a team they know.

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Anderson has been with Kiplinger since January 2004, when she joined the staff as a reporter. Since then, she's covered the gamut of personal finance issues—from mortgages and credit to spending wisely—and she heads up Kiplinger's annual automotive rankings. She holds a BA in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was the 2012 president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and serves on its board of directors. In 2014, she was selected for the North American Car and Truck Of the Year jury. The awards, presented at the Detroit Auto Show, have come to be regarded as the most prestigious of their kind in the U.S. because they involve no commercial tie-ins. The jury is composed of nationally recognized journalists from across the U.S. and Canada, who are selected on the basis of audience reach, experience, expertise, product knowledge, and reputation in the automotive community.