Dear Readers,

I'm not sure when I first started seriously talking about the incredible value of good personal organization and record keeping.

Maybe it was when I was told that my wonderful mother would need open-heart surgery and we needed to have all her legal and medical documents in order . . . asap.

Or was it when I had to get a grip on my aging parents' finances (after my father fell, age 86--hip surgery plus mild dementia equal really bad timing) and discovered that he had savings in a 'rainy day fund' which just happened to be an old-type, 'non-interest-bearing bank account', one that he had never bothered to change at retirement two decades prior!

Or maybe it was upon repeatedly questioning my parent's seemingly low monthly pension income, finally to be informed that "the computer had made an error and your father somehow did not get the proper adjustment 12 years ago"?

Or perhaps it was while rummaging through a dresser drawer in search of a crucial life insurance policy so as to make a claim for my mother.

Could it have been when I accidentally found a loving note from my dad that I never knew he had written years before he died? Maybe it was when my mother-in-law was declared legally blind and I had to introduce myself to her key financial and medical advisors (with up-dated POAs firmly in hand)!

It could have been decades ago, when doing project work in Uganda and India, realizing that, as an only child, my parents depended on me solely and it was my responsibility to ensure that all was in order.

Or perhaps it was just a couple short years ago, when my new husband of just over one year was shockingly diagnosed with esophageal cancer and we were forced to abandon our future retirement dreams and talk instead about end-of-life wishes?

Or maybe it's just because being organized helps me sleep better every night.

In truth, most of us age on a one-day at a time basis, with no plans--but that is proving to be a dangerous attitude in today's demanding world, since it is not a matter of 'if' you or your spouse or a loved one will eventually need to access personal information, but 'when'!

Ask yourself, "Do I have a system for organizing my essential personal information?

How easy would it be for other family members to figure out my record keeping if they had to do so? And who besides me knows where to find all that necessary personal information?"

Is it time for you to set aside a few days over the next months, conquer the paper, get organized and give yourself and your family the gift of peace of mind! If so, maybe this guideline will help kick-start the process.

Select a dedicated place in your home for working with your records.

Obtain a blank book to use as your 'Care Planner' --a coiled notebook or a 3-ring binder book will do nicely (Or, you can run a ready-to-go copy of the 'care planner' from my website!)

The following outlines the basics you need to put in your Planner (don't forget along with the names to include contact information):

Vital Information - legal name - any name changes - maiden name - birth date and place - location of birth - location of birth certificate/ marriage certificate/ divorce certificate - canadian social insurance number (sin) - Provincial medical care card number - any other medical insurance numbers - Passport number/location - names of parents/mother's maiden name - legal names of each of your children, dates and places of birth, their current addresses and sin numbers

Key People - executor(s) - lawyer, for estate purposes - Power-of-attorney - lawyer, for business - doctor(s) - dentist - medical specialists --list each: heart/eyes/ hearing . . . - trustee(s) - banker/advisor - financial advisor/portfolio manager(s) - insurance agents-- house/vehicles/all personal policies . . . - chartered accountant(s) - banker(s) - Pharmacist(s)/Pharmacy - clergy - designated care-manager

What's that you say? "This is a huge effort!" Well, to begin perhaps-- but I promise you will feel way less stressed knowing that 'all your stuff is in order'. (And besides, now you are free to plan your next adventure . . . Galapagos here I come!)

My best wishes, Patty