Baby Boomers: The Generation in the Middle
Help Your Children, Help Your Parents, Help Yourself
You open the mail and find a notice that your gas is about to be shut off due to non-payment. You know you’ve paid the bills and it’s their error, but you need the payment receipts to prove it. Your heart starts to pound and your mind goes frantic trying to remember where you can find the proof that you paid your bills.
That situation and countless others like it can be annoying and frustrating. You are looking for that one piece of paper needed to show proof of payment, proof of purchase, or even a parent’s insurance information in a medical crisis; and you need it immediately. Whether you want to admit it or not, this situation happens often in today’s extended families. In many cases, only one spouse knows where the family’s information can be found, or your aging parents have their own filing system that you don’t know about; but the fact is everyone in the family needs to know what to keep and where to keep it so that the information is readily available at any time. Another person, such as bookkeeper or attorney, should also be an “advocate” for the family and be able to find necessary documents.
In my early years of practice this scenario occurred at least once a week. My family and clients are lucky to have me, because I know right where to locate what they are looking for. I’m now in the process of teaching them where all their important papers are to be found, and you should be doing the same thing with your family.
Take a serious look at all your important papers and organize them into a comprehensive storage container. Make sure your children and your advocate know where you have stored the container and how to access the information. Teach your children right from the start how important personal record keeping is and show them what documents they need to save. And don’t forget to sit down with your parents and go through all their important papers, making sure they file them away so you can easily locate their documents in an emergency.
I can assure you this process is necessary and worthwhile. It will give you, your children and your parents peace of mind and save enormous amounts of time and stress. Remember, it could save the life of a family member in an emergency, so what are you waiting for? Get organized.