THE IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZED RECORD RETENTION

THE FOLLOWING IS A TEST OF YOUR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS SYSTEM:

by Roger Alan Petzke

First, start a timer.

Next, as quickly as you can, retrieve the following:

(1)     Your last three federal income tax returns;

(2)     The deed to your home, your most recent property tax bill, your     mortgage, and evidence of the present balance of the indebtedness secured by that mortgage;

(3)     Your savings account books, your checkbook registers, your certificates of deposit and your most recent monthly bank account statements;

(4)     Your stock certificates and the most recent quarterly statements in regard to your brokerage accounts and mutual funds;

(5)     All policies of insurance on your life, home, and motor vehicles; and

(6)     All of your unpaid bills.

Next, stop the timer. How did you do?

For those of you who are satisfied that you "passed" the test I urge you to re-take the test during the height of your next bout of the flu or after having been sleep deprived or heavily medicated for several days. Will you do as well?

Finally, ask your spouse or the other person upon whom you would depend for the handling of your affairs in the event of your incapacity or death to take the test. How will he or she perform?

The results of the foregoing tests will, in many cases, serve as a wake-up call to better organize one's documents, records, and reports and to effectively communicate with his or her spouse or others in regard to how they can be effectively accessed if the need arises.

My practice involves the planning and administration of estates. Effective planning and administration both depend, in large part, upon the ready accessibility of thorough facts based upon documents, records, and reports in regard to one's assets and liabilities. All too often I witness circumstances in which efficient planning or administration are compromised by the lack of ready availability of necessary documents, records and reports. Countless hours, in many instances, are spent searching for, and sorting for relevancy of, paperwork which, if simply organized and made known in advance to those having a "need to know" would be hours saved.

As difficult as it is for many able-bodied and cognitively alert individuals to efficiently access all of their vital records, reports and documents, the task becomes even tougher as people begin to experience a decline in capacity. That task, when it falls to a successor, in the event of one's incapacity or death, can become geometrically more difficult.

I encourage you, therefore, to put on your "to do" list the task of organizing or updating the organization of your important documents, records, and reports, and, then, communicating with your loved ones regarding how your "system" can be accessed if and when needed. Many books and articles have been written on how to organize documents, records and reports. The reality is that almost any system will work as long as it is adhered to as a matter of habit and known to not only you but, also, your "back-up" persons so they can access, and benefit from, same in the event of your incapacity or death.

At the bottom line, organization beats relative chaos. The task of becoming organized in the retention of your documents, records and reports may seem daunting at the outset but, with patience and a bit of persistence a meaningful system can be implemented and maintained. The investment of your time and efforts will pay dividends, many times over, as you update the planning of your estate and others, ultimately, administer same for the benefit of you and your loved ones.