A few days ago a member of our extended family was killed suddenly in a car accident. He lived on the other side of the country from the rest of his family. Without warning, the family was left to make all the arrangements with very little information. The pain of the unexpected loss is compounded by significant and unnecessary expense to gather all the necessary information.

Few people take the time to answer the question, “If I were to die tomorrow, would the people that need information about my personal affairs and my job know what they need to know? Yet, if we really care about the people we love and the people with whom we work, it’s one of the most loving and important actions we can take. A friend recently told me about handling her mother’s affairs at the end of her life -- she had left the answer to every conceivable question. Mary was so grateful!

Often a big part of the problem is that we don’t have the information gathered in one place. An even bigger challenge can be our willingness to address the reality that we will not live forever. As a child, I never wanted to think about going to heaven because I didn’t want to leave what I had on earth. As an adult, I’m comforted by the words of the Apostle Paul, “To live is joy; to die is gain.”

On the business side, my business partner and I are working together to develop a “What if...” plan so that if tragedy strikes, we’ve done all we can to make the transition as easy as possible for the people remaining.

Recently my husband and I started collecting all the information our children will need to know if both of us die at the same time. Frankly, it’s a complicated and unpleasant task in many ways, but it’s essential, and I’m determined to do everything we can to make my children’s lives easier.

Photo Credit:  Mickey-Finn