In the days and weeks following your death, your family will be looking for information about any benefits to which you and they are entitled. You can make this search easier for them by providing the following information for them.
- Group Insurance Benefits – if your employer provides group life insurance, let your family know the name of the insurance company and who the primary contact person is at work. This will probably be someone in the Human Resources (HR) Department who will be able to help your survivors file the necessary paperwork to collect the benefits provided by the group policy.
- Individual Life Insurance Benefits – there once was a time when employees remained at the same employer for their entire working lifetime and that employer’s group benefits could be counted on to help the employee meet all of his or her needs. That is no longer the case. While I would never tell a person to refuse the insurance that the employer is paying for, I would also encourage that person to have life insurance that he/she owns and controls; life insurance that will stay with him/her when they are no longer a part of the group. Once again, make sure your family knows the name of the insurance company that you have purchased life insurance from, the name of the agent from whom you bought it, and the address/telephone number of the company’s home office. Keep the policy in a safe place (i.e., a fireproof lockbox) at home. Many people believe that the policy(ies) should be kept in the safe deposit box at the bank; but, if the bank learns of the death before your beneficiaries get the policy out of the box, that box can be sealed until it has been “inventoried” for estate tax purposes
- Any associations to which you belong that may provide benefits – many associations and professional organizations offer benefits to survivors as a benefit of membership. Make certain to list out all organizations to which you belong and any benefits that your know they provide along with contact information for each one so that your survivors can easily claim those benefits.
- Homeowner’s/Renter’s Insurance and Auto Insurance – the name, address, and contact information for your agent along with the name of the insurance company and its home office address and telephone number should be listed along with the information regarding individual and group life insurance policies
The days and weeks after your death will be a difficult time for your survivors. You have the ability to make this time a little less trying for them by planning ahead and making certain that they know where the plan details can be found and who to contact for help in putting that plan into action. There are few love letters that you can write to your family that will be more appreciated than the one that begins, “I know this is hard for you, but I’ve done all I can to make it a little easier for you …”