When the time comes, are you ready?

Thinking about your end of life preparations is never an easy topic or thing to do. But in reality we dont know when our time is up. For years, this very thought has weighed heavily on my mind. Will my family know what to do with my things? Will they even know where to start with my online life? Will they know how to access my banking information? Will they have enough money to deal with my funeral? 

I began keeping all of my important documents in a briefcase next to my front door, so that they are easily accessible if I need to leave my house quickly. This came from losing everything to a house fire and not having backup copies of the most basic information. Do you know where your social security card is? Do you know where your birth certificate is? Do you know how to go about getting a new birth certificate? Do you know where the registration and title to your car is? Do you have backup ATM cards? These are all things that should be in one area and ready to go at a moments notice. Because trust me, in an emergency situation, you dont have time to gather everything important. 
You should have digital copies of everything too. Have them saved on the cloud somewhere, and even on a thumb drive. I keep a micro SD card filled with all my personal information including my passwords and login's, a copy of my drivers license, passport, birth certificate, medical cards, ATM/Credit cards, and any other relevant information, in my wallet. I also keep a digital copy in my briefcase too.

I keep a digital copy of these things too on my phone. Most phones have the ability to make password protected folders. Or there are free programs that you can download that allow you to secure folders and files on your phone. When I travel, I always make sure to keep updated pictures of all my ATM cards front and back on my phone. When I went on a cruise, I made sure that I took a picture of my passport too, just incase I lost it along the way I could have them at least run my number and see that the picture that came up on screen and the information all matched. Im not sure if it would work that way but its better to at least have that information and try vs not having access to any of it right?

The reason I'm writing about this right now is because I just spent the better part of a hour updating all of my personal end of life files and saving the backup copies to their respective places online and within the house. 

You need to talk to your friends and your loved ones about your End of Life wishes and have a plan set up. Also take some time to go to the hospital and set up a file there. Tell them you want to set up emergency contacts and list people and their "power" over your decisions. I have several people including their phone numbers, addresses, and emails set up for mine and who can make decisions and who can not make decisions. Not only does this help the medical staff, but it also keeps people from coming in and making demands of your treatments, who may otherwise not know anything about what you need or want.

You can never be to prepared. Make sure that you do everything you can to help your loved ones through your emergencies and passing.