Planning Ahead

Many years ago, when I was younger and I was working as an over the road truck driver, I tried to make preparations for my family in the event I was ever involved in a fatal accident. I made arrangements in advance as to who would raise my children in the event my wife and I were both gone. I also made sure another family member living in a separate house had a copy of my will and all my final requests.

As the years went by , my assets changed and so did my priorities. My children were grown up and no longer needed someone to raise them. My ex-wife and I were no longer together, therefore I did not want her to inherit any of my assets or belonging that held a special importance to me. Both of my parents had passed away and I had finally quit driving a semi. As a result of all these changes in my life, my will and final requests had changed and I found myself needing to update all the information I planned on leaving behind.

One other major change that took place over my lifetime was the invention of home computers and the Internet. Due to the fact that I became a webmaster for numerous websites, I found myself loaded down with passwords and user accounts that required secure access and while I appreciated the security measures, I also realized that my death could make it almost impossible for anyone else to access certain vital information located on my computer or other websites and since we live in a constantly changing world where all the credit card companies, insurance companies, utility companies and every one else is constantly trying to get us to use their websites and automatic payments in order to save on paper and having to use the postal service, I knew I needed to make some changes within my own protective measures.

Therefore I recently compiled a letter listing ALL of the user names, passwords and Internet addresses for every secure website I use, what type of financial or account information is on that website, what email address and/or credit card information is linked to that website, etc. A copy of that letter can then be placed in a safety deposit box at a bank or given to an attorney to distribute to the appropriate individual if or when something happens to me.

So, if anyone out there happens to own a Domain Name, host a web site, subscribe to an antivirus program that requires you to pay for annual renewals, use any type of web site that bills automatically to a credit card or sends vitally important updates to your email address, you may want to think about making sure someone will be able to access that information in the event anything happens to you AND/OR your spouse. Also remember that since some credit cards and debit cards become invalid the day a person dies, timing can be extremely important when dealing with any website, internet provider or company that is set up on an automatic billing and payment cycle.