The single most important thing you can leave to your heirs is a current list of passwords and access codes, according to Kiplinger.com.
Conventional advice is to involve both partners in financial decisions and management. But as a practical matter, one spouse usually handles these matters. The key is making it easy for a surviving spouse to take over.
First, make sure your spouse knows the password or access codes for your computer and phone. This gives them access to email and texts, which can help pay bills, identify and manage monetary accounts, and contact friends.
Make sure your spouse knows, at least roughly, where your money is saved and invested and what insurance policies you may have. When a partner dies, survivors need immediate access to money for funeral arrangements and living expenses. Both spouses need to know who their financial advisor is and how to contact him or her.
For savings, checking, and investment accounts, make sure both partners own the accounts so the survivor can access them immediately.
Household details are also important. Couples should keep a running list of big-ticket items. Take a walk through the house with your spouse, make a list of important items like the water heater and furnace, and write down the approximate year they were installed. While you are at it, note the name of the company or professional you used for the job and, if you remember, how much you paid.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.