What you don’t know can hurt you (financially)

Growing up, I hated funerals. I did not like to see people so sad. By the time I was in high school, I avoided them. Many people hate dealing with death and dying. They avoid the topic, because they don’t want to address the issue of their own mortality. While the deceased is gone, there are others left who are forced to deal with matters of the death. Dying is not free in this country. The one financial issue everyone will have to face is what it will cost your family when you die.

Last month, my husband suddenly lost his father. He left a wife of twenty years who knew nothing about the family finances. He also left her with the cost of his funeral. There is no doubt in our minds that he loved her, but he did not prepare her for a life without him. In the midst of her grief she has to handle funeral and hospital bills. She also has to figure out how to make ends meet.

There is a lot of financial information on investing, creating wealth and budgeting. Your foundation for wealth starts by planning beyond your death. Part of that planning is having a system organized so that your financial documents can be accessed. Your family should feel financial secure about your death. If you are wealthy enough to be self-insured; your information should be found easily. Siblings with older parents should have copies of their important documents or know where to find them. Do you really want bill collectors calling your loved ones while they are bereaving your death?

At-home moms need to be insured too. How is your husband going to replace what you do at home? What you do as an “at- home” mom equates to over six-figures in the market place. Creating wealth is a family affair. Everyone can be a player in the money game.