As I mentioned in an earlier post, my father-in-law, Roger, recently passed away.

Roger was a helluva guy. Decorated Vietnam vet (USMC, 3 tours), a career cop, loving father, doting grandfather, and the best father-in-law a guy could ask for. He was ALWAYS there when we needed him.

His death came as a shock to us. He was sixty, and as far as we knew, healthy.

Roger left no will, no life insurance, no instructions for a funeral. No beneficiary was listed on any of his bank accounts. Many of his possessions are unaccounted for (presumably in a safe deposit box--we found an unmarked key, but we have no idea where it is or what number.) My wife is his only child, and he was, as he liked to say, "happily divorced for thirteen years" at the time of his death. My wife had to decide EVERYTHING. This made the already incredibly difficult task of coping with his loss that much worse.

I urge everyone here, if they haven't already done so, to prepare for their own death. You should have a will. And a living will. And someone needs to know where they are. Your loved ones should know what you would like done with your remains, and what sort of funeral service you would like. You should have AT LEAST enough life insurance to pay for your funeral and burial/cremation/whatever expenses. If you store stuff (especially valuables or heirlooms) in a place other than your home, SOMEONE should know where. You should have beneficiaries listed at your bank, and at your place of business. If you have children, designate (legally) a guardian for them in the event that you and your spouse die.

I cannot stress how important this stuff is, folks. Having all of this in order will save your loved ones a lot of grief during a time when they will already have more than they can handle.

Take care,

Andy

PS:
Some of you have PMed me with your condolences-- thank you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to respond sooner.