Develop Your Financial Crisis Plan Before Emergencies

Don't wait for a breadwinner's death to discover your family's finances. Prepare now to prevent money problems from making a bad situation even worse.

• Locate the paperwork:
  Store important financial records — including the name and contact numbers of your financial advisors — in a central location you can access quickly in an emergency.
  
  
• Talk about money regularly: Know your family's key assets and debts and the cost to run your household.
  
  
• Create an insurance safety net: Disability and life insurance are musts if one person depends on the other's income and the children are minors.
  
  
• Write your will: Any sound estate plan should include a living will, a designated power of attorney and a health-care proxy.
  
  
• Save for emergencies: Create an emergency fund — or consider opening a home equity line — with enough cash to cover three months of living expenses.

Contact us at info@benefitadvocates.net to receive a copy of the “Checklist for Survivors” listing information you'll need when a family member dies.