Rhonda’s Rules: A Woman’s Guide to Getting Her Affairs in Order

Rhonda’s Rules is a checklist developed in response to the unexpected and tragic loss of a loving mother, sister, daughter and friend. Rhonda’s family was forced to navigate bureaucratic red tape to protect her three children, while dealing with their grief.

(Source: http://blog.napw.com/rhondas-rules-a-womans-guide-to-getting-her-affairs-in-order/)

PERSONAL
Write a will (and update as your life and circumstances change).
Create Testamentary Trust for any minor children (if necessary).
Record information about your lawyer, accountant, financial planner or financial advisor, including his/her contact information.



Write a letter detailing what you want done with your personal possessions after your death. If you want a niece to have your engagement ring or your god-child to have your precious pet, put it in this letter. Give a copy of the letter to your lawyer and have it notarized if necessary.
Establish durable power of attorney to direct assets and investments.
Write a living will or a health-care proxy (medical power of attorney).
List all your pets, include their veterinarian names and vaccination history.
Specify who should have access to private/personal information (computers, passwords, finances, etc.).
List all irreplaceable items that are locked up (either in your home or in a safety deposit box) including jewelry, heirlooms and documents such as marriage license, birth certificates, passports, stocks, bonds and death certificates. Make a photocopy of those documents for your household files and consider taking pictures of the jewelry or other items.
List of login and passwords. (Don’t put this information in your will, which becomes public information. Put in a separate letter.) Be sure to include:

Personal website login information

Social Media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumblr, etc.)

Email (i.e., Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, AOL, etc.)

Websites (i.e., NAPW, LinkedIn, Ebay, Amazon, PayPal, Netflix, etc.)

Devices: tablets, iPods, phones, desktops, laptops

Find a safe and easily accessible place for your important documents.
Identify and document the location of home desks, hidden cabinets and drawers, home safe with combination or locks and any other non-obvious document storage locations. Include name, address and keys for storage lockers.
Take a physical inventory of items worth $100 or more.
Other important information:

List all dates and places of birth for yourself and all minor children

Relative’s names and contact information

Employers with dates of employment and employee ID if applicable

All property, mortgage information, utilities with names of companies, account numbers with schedules of payments

Recent tax returns

Label your keys for your car(s), office, house, vacation home, boat, etc.:

Name and contact information for the building superintendent or community manager

A list of all regular deliveries such as newspapers, milk and all regular service providers such as lawn services, waste pickup and snow removal.
Discuss plans for death with your heirs and/or close family/friends to prevent disputes and let them know your expectations.
If you wish to be buried, buy a burial plot or secure a mausoleum.
Plan your funeral/memorial service.
Send any lists and or wills to the estate administrator (dated and signed), give one to your spouse/family member and keep one for your records.

FINANCIAL
Review your life insurance policy and make sure it will cover all of your funeral expenses, and any additional insurance you might wish to carry.
Create a list of life insurance, annuities, disability insurance, including issuer, policy number, broker and contact information.
Take inventory of non-physical assets (saving’s accounts, gift cards, store credits, secret stash of cash) and create a map or outline of where your money is kept, saved, held or deposited.
Outline entitlements predicated by your death (brokerage accounts, 401k, pensions, IRA assets, trusts, bank accounts, life insurance policies, long term care policies, home owner/auto/disabilit/health policies).
Make a list of open credit cards/debts/ auto loans/ home equity lines of credit (do this by running a free credit report online):

Contact your credit card company(s) to create “Authorized Account Managers” who are empowered to handle basic maintenance on your credit card account

Make a list of organizations that you belong to (NAPW, AHA, AARP, Sorority, College Alumni, etc.) or that you support, as many organizations have accidental life insurance benefits.
Review/update beneficiary for all your accounts/policies at least every two years.
Review/update beneficiary for all your accounts/policies whenever a major life event occurs (marriage, divorce, death or birth).
Investigate whether accounts can be set up to “transfer upon death” to avoid probate issues (avoid costs being taken out of estate).
Meet with an attorney or financial advisor to set up the appropriate trusts in the name of beneficiaries to allow for less of the estate to be taxed or distributed by the court.

PROFESSIONAL
Think about all of your job responsibilities and determine what you could do to help your boss and co-workers fulfill these responsibilities if you were to suddenly and unexpectedly leave your job.
Document policy/procedures of key workflow or key employees.
If you own your business, meet with a lawyer and have a document drawn up that explicitly says what will happen to your company if you are no longer capable of running it.
Develop a business continuity plan to mitigate the risk caused by sudden death, natural disaster or act of terrorism.

CHILDREN
Appoint a Custodial Guardian for the child’s “person” and for their “property” for any minor children to avoid court appointed guardians.
If you are single and you don’t want the child’s other biological parent to be the custodial guardian, you must document why the they are unfit or abusive and thus not a desirable guardian.
Create a list of people (in order) you want as the Custodial Guardian in case your first choice is not available or deemed inappropriate by the court.
Create a list of your child(ren)’s doctors and health care providers:

Pediatrician

Dentist

Orthodontist

Dermatologist

Therapist

Create list of your child(ren)’s medication, dosage and medical conditions.
Write a letter detailing any special circumstances that you would want your child(ren) to know in your absence:

Birth (i.e., adoption, IVF, donor egg, donor sperm, surrogacy)

Genetic tendencies

History of mental health/illness, heart disease, cancer in family

Family Tree/History