Every Family Member Needs A Personal “Care-Planner”

DEAR READERS, June 2009

I developed this guideline for a Care-Planner because it is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ you and your loved ones will need it!

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...now.
   
• Or was it when I had to get a grip on my aging parents’ finances (after my father fell at 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 a very old, ‘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 accidently 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 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 unexpectedly to abandon our future retirement dreams and talk instead about end-of-life wishes?
   
• Or was it while having a quiet lunch with a girlfriend last year, discussing the new reality facing both of us--finding ourselves widows before becoming seniors!
  

In truth, most of us age on a one-day at a time basis, with no plans – but that is proving to be a very 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 basic guideline will help kick-start the process.

What’s that you say? “This is a huge effort!”

Well, to begin perhaps, but, I sleep a lot better, work and travel a lot happier, and am way less stressed knowing that ‘all my stuff is in order’. (And with all this done, I feel free to plan my next adventure...Galapagos here I come!)

MY VERY BEST WISHES,

PATTY

GETTING STARTED

Where to begin?

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

What do you need?

• A blank book to use as your ‘Care Planner’-- a coiled notebook or a 3-ring binder book will do nicely—something you can update as need be.

• OR you can copy the Planner sections here and fill in the blanks (on paper and/or on your computer... file when finished...and then up-date whenever necessary).
***See the last 6 pages here for an outline of the contents for your Planner

• A storage container to use as your ‘Record-Keeping Box’: a section of a filing cabinet or a box--I use an inexpensive plastic file box from my local office supply store and hanging files. You might consider buying a fire-retardant box for important papers that you keep at home or use a safe. (Hint: Your wallet probably serves as one of your filing systems now, with personal ID, emergency medical info, etc, but it can be lost so it is important to keep a list of its contents in your ‘care planner’ as well.)

• A discussion with your loved ones as to where your planner and storage container (and safe with combination) are kept.

What goes in your ‘Care Planner’?

• Be sure to include names plus contact information (telephone numbers, addresses, email addresses, notes to self.....whatever is required).

• Hint: In the back of my home address book, for consistency and instant access, I also keep an exhaustive list of the maintenance companies/individuals who do work around my own home and my rental property (furnace repair/windows/gardeners, and on it goes).

What documents go into your ‘Record Keeping Box’?

• Legal evidences/family data: Birth, marriage, adoption, divorce, child support, citizenship certificates
   
• Estate planning information: Wills, Powers-of-Attorney, Representative Agreements, Advance Health Directives/Living Wills, organ donations, end-of-life wishes, letters to loved ones and a list of inheritances (who gets the clock/ tea set/heirloom jewelry/art/collections—hint: date and send a copy of this list to your estate lawyer to place ‘with your Will’)
   
• Investment records: firms involved, stocks, bonds, GICs, annuities, savings accounts, mutual funds...
   
• Banking institutions: account(s), statements, debts/loans
   
• Property: real estate titles, rental/lease agreements, home improvement expenses, mortgage papers, property assessments
   
• Retirement plans
   
• Pension plans
   
• Benefit plans
   
• Income tax papers
   
• Insurance policies—all personal, household and business
   
• Health-medical plans—vital to an on-going illness or injury
   
• Health history-- past procedures, illnesses, injuries, relevant family history
   
• Household inventory: can be in the form of photographs (write on the back), a written records list (time consuming), or a narrated video (Hint: send a duplicate copy of your inventory to the company responsible for your house insurance)
   
• Credit card up-dates—list, include receipts as proof of payments (shred regularly)
   
• Safety deposit boxes: location and number, contents
   
• Employment history
   
• Warranties/guarantees
   
• Professional/alumni memberships
   
• Care wishes--describe what you want and how you’ve planned to pay for your care
   
• Vehicle ownership papers
    
• Military service records
   
• Donations
   
• Collections--coins, stamps...
   
• Registration numbers of valued equipment
   
• Family Pet(s)—care/background
   
• Family history of value to pass to each generation

Personal Care Planner of

_____________________________________

Vital Personal Information

• Legal name
_________________________________________________
 

• Any name changes
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Maiden name
_________________________________________________
 

• Birth date and place
_________________________________________________
 

• Location of birth
_________________________________________________
 

• Location of birth certificate
_________________________________________________
 

• Location of marriage certificate
_________________________________________________
 

• Location of 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 and their current addresses and SIN numbers
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Notes on my wishes for my care (if and when need be as I grow older)
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Notes on my end-of-life wishes/thoughts
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

List of medications and prescribing medical doctors (physician, dermatologist, specialists....) plus the dates each prescription was started and stopped (and why it was stopped if a reason was given)

• This list will vary—try to keep it updated

• Special note: Seniors should also always have a current list in an easily accessible location in case of emergencies; include known allergies and any major vitamin supplements

• Hint: Save yourself time, update this list on a regular as need basis and run a copy to keep in an accessible location (bathroom cabinet with meds/frig door...)

• Hint: If you travel and need to carry with you some of your medications, obtain a brief letter from your family doctor which lists the medications you are carrying and why they have been prescribed (this little step will ease you through customs each time and may be of value should you need a refill while away)

_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

Key People

• Executor(s)
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Law firm and lawyer--for estate purposes
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Power-Of-Attorney
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Law firm and lawyer, for business
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Choices for my designated care-manager(s)
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Family Doctor(s)
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Dentist(s)
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Medical specialists--list each: heart/eyes/hearing.....
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Trustee(s)
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Banking Institution/Bankers/Advisor(s)
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Financial advisor(s)/portfolio manager(s)
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Insurance agents/insurance companies (house/vehicles/all personal policies... list each)
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Chartered accountant(s)/firm
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

• Pharmacist(s)/Pharmacy
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
 

• Clergy
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

NOTES