Use tax time to create a safe box for your will executor

Tax time is a great time to make a fireproof file box full of everything the executor of your will would need if he/she had to take over your finances. Don't think about scary scenarios that led to that day; instead make it a goal to impress whoever you named -- your brother-in-law, your older sister -- when you show him/her your neatly organized system. The reason tax time is so great is because you already have most of the information pulled together because the IRS is interested in all your accounts, mortgage, etc AND it happens every year so you can easily keep this information up-to-date. The strategy is to have a binder with sheet protectors as pockets; each pocket contains a tax form or statement that conveys the essential information about an account, and -- because you do it each year with your taxes -- it will be up-to-date.

Here are the supplies you'll need for the system I use:

• Two Binders
• Sheet protectors
• A fireproof file box
• Card stock
• Labels

See Shopping Tips below for my suggestions on what to look for...

Here's all you need to do:

With all your supplies in hand and the paperwork from your recent tax filing, set yourself up near your printer/copier in case you want to put a copy in the binder instead of the original...

1. Label the binder Will and Financial Information using either the card stock of labels. I added a short description addressed to my brother-in-law "Here's all the information you'd need including bank account numbers etc. See how organized I am?"
2. Put a copy of your will in a sheet protector and put it in the binder
3. Make a pocket for each account or important asset using your tax information. Slip a piece of card stock into the sheet protector to keep the pocket rigid...then you can make notes on the card stock. "This is my IRA." Don't forget your car registration, which you pulled out to deduct the taxes.
4. If you don't make the second binder, include pockets for Living Will, Medical Directives, any POA's (Power of Attorney), contact information for attorney, life insurance agent, any other insurance agents.
5. Show it to the person you want to impress most...oh, I mean...show it to the executor of your will along with where it will be and combination/key to the box.
6. (Optional last step) Strut around with a superior air thinking "My will paperwork is soooo organized. I used to be like all of you."

Shopping tips

• Two Binders -- Look for reference binders that allow you to slip card stock into the cover and spine.
• Sheet protectors -- The sheet protectors should be archival quality. If you are one of the women who bought a truckload of scrapbook supplies when her kids were toddlers and now they are graduating from high school with 3 fabulous pages, you can use some of those supplies
• A fireproof file box -- This file box will contain confidential information that you'll want to keep very secure. Of course, you'll also need to get back into it so think about your own habits and the executor to decide whether to have it locked with a key or combination.
• Card stock -- The card stock will keep empty sheet protectors from flopping all over and be used for the front cover so it should be the same size as sheet protectors. It doesn't need to be very thick -- just heavier than paper -- but use heavy weight if you have it on hand. Again, you can use some leftover scrapbook supplies.
• Labels -- If you use the reference binder, you might not need labels. But, labels can pull the whole binder together. Orderly Chic is teaming up with Kidecals to create a custom set just for this project. Email info@orderlychic.com if you want to know more!

Documents Binder:

In the second binder I put essential documents such as passports, birth certificates, marriage license. Since these documents should always be returned after being used, I put a piece of cardstock with the document name as a place holder; then if someone removes the document, the card stock reminds us to return it. (I also photocopy the document and keep it on the refrigerator until it is replaced.)

Here's a list of items you might include:

• Passports
• Social Security cards
• Marriage license
• Will
• Living Will
• Medical Directives
• Any POA's (Power of Attorney)
• Contact information for attorney, life insurance agent, any other insurance agents

Passing on the values my parent taught me, April 1.

Today, of all days, I'm acutely aware of my parents' influence on my values. They taught me all I need to know about being an entrepreneur on April Fools Day: understand your customer's expectations then have the patience and lack of ego to do whatever it takes to delight them.

As the mother of 8 kids, my mom ran a tight ship. Every morning we ate a cooked breakfast together at 6:30 am at the table my dad made out of a door. We all were in out uniforms, the kids in Catholic School uniforms and my dad in his 3-piece suit. Dad and kids alike reached into the drawer under the cupboard to get a mom-hand-sewn apron to keep us from spoiling our clothes. (He always looked so great; it was a shock to me to find out that Sears wasn't haute couture.) One April Fools Day my dad came down to breakfast dressed as he always was, minus his pants. My sister and I, the youngest two, whispered to each other "Do you think he knows?" "Should we tell him?" When he finally took off his apron, replaced it in the drawer, went to the front closet, put on his overcoat and hat...the last thing he did before he 'd say "See you in the funny papers," and walk out the door to the bus...we knew we had to act. "Dad, you forgot your pants," we shouted. I think he intended the joke to end there but seeing how important we felt, he let us believe we'd saved him from a terrible embarrassment. He was so grateful that his two girls kept him from walking out without his trousers. "What would I do without you?"

My mom was more straight-forward but her simple and consistent Tom-Foolery taught me the value of keeping it simple. She'd simply look out the front window and say, "Oh my Gosh." And we'd reply "what, what, what is it?" She'd just fill in the blank...a horse on the lawn, it had snowed two feet, old Mrs. Thompson was out front dancing in the street. These simple tricks were easy for us to learn and then play on our older brothers and sisters. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a girl to pull a prank and you've made her into an entrepreneur for a lifetime.