Making notes now helps those you leave behind

(This article has been updated to correct the name of Teressa Hackenmiller.)

WILLIAMSBURG — Planning for our deaths is a gift we give to those we behind, according to Shelly Halverson, creator of an estate planning system called A Lifetime Gift.

Thrivent financial adviser Justin Gingerich and engagement leader Teressa Hackenmiller presented Halverson’s program as part of the Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce lunch-and-learn series last week.

“Nobody really wants to talk about this stuff,” said Hackenmiller.

But taking care of things beforehand is “one of the best gifts you can give to your kids,” said Gingerich.

Halverson, based in Florida, is a certified celebrant, trained and certified to meet the needs of families during their time of loss, according to her LinkedIn profile.

During the course of losing 14 family members, Halverson learned about downsizing, hospice, powers of attorney, wills and titles, she said in a video presented during the lunch-and-learn. She put together a system to help others prepare documents and make lists that make things easier on those left behind.

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A Lifetime Gift provides 19 pages of information in a binder in which survivors can find information about documents, passwords, keys and the will of the deceased.

“I don’t want you looking at it everyday,” said Halverson in the video, but the documents should be updated as situations change.

Designate a primary contact and make sure everyone in the family knows who that contact is, Halverson suggested. Then begin writing down what that person needs to know, such as who needs to be contacted in the event of your death — your place of employment or a volunteer organization.

Make a note where your powers of attorney, will and other legal documents are.

Personal information will be needed for the obituary and for the death certificate. Some information, such as the names, birth dates and birth places of your parents, may not be known to children and grandchildren, said Halverson, unless you write it down.

Every state has a historical society, said Halverson, and death records are public records. In addition to writing the information in the binder, you may want to get copies of your parents’ vital records and keep them with the binder.

You may want to write your own obituary, said Halverson. Write down any information that is unknown to or forgotten by other members of the family.

Also, choose a photo for the obituary and keep it with the binder or make a note of where it is.

Take care of decisions about custody and guardianships for dependents now, and make arrangement as to where your pets should go, Halverson said. Write those instructions in the binder for those you leave behind.

Some things that people don’t think twice about can cause problems for others after your death, such as where the house keys and mailbox keys are kept and what the passcodes are for alarm systems or safes, Halverson said.

Write down security codes and personal identification numbers for your cellphone and computer.

Halverson said she had friends whose daughter died at the age of 35. Halverson wanted to help in any way she could, and the parents asked her to call the contacts in their daughter’s phone and let them know what had happened.

But no one knew the code to unlock the woman’s phone. The passcode was 10 digits, almost impossible to guess. The parents had to pay $250 to have a professional break the passcode, said Halverson.

Keep health information where your family can find it, Halverson suggested. Information such as allergies, medications you take, blood type, treatments you’ve had, health care providers, health insurance information and location of legal documents pertaining to health care will be needed by your dependents if you aren’t able to make decisions for yourself.

Halverson suggested keeping copies of the documents on your phone in case something happens while you’re on vacation and can’t quickly get to the documents at your home.

Check titles to homes and vehicles to make sure your dependents will have authority to sell them after you die. Doing the paperwork beforehand will save time for them later.

Halverson thought her grandparents owned their property as joint tenants, and as her grandfather’s executor, she had legal authority to sell it. Her grandmother had died earlier.

The property sold within a week, Halverson said. That’s when she found out that her grandparents had owned the property as tenants in common, and Halverson couldn’t sell her grandmother’s half.

The buyer was willing to wait until that estate went into probate to buy the property, but sometimes a sale will fall through due to time constraints, she said. Probate can take a year.

Consult an attorney to make sure titles to homes, including vacation homes, vehicles and time shares are written in a way that makes their transfer easy after your death, Halverson said.

Halverson suggested taking photos of items you want certain people to receive after your death. Put them in the binder so they’ll be easy for family members to find.

To avoid having your loved one’s identity stolen after they die, send a copy of the death certificate to credit reporting agencies so they can be mark the person deceased.

It’s a good idea to do that for anyone who has died in the last five years, Halverson said.

Put two names on all utility bills, Halverson said. If the utility company doesn’t know you, it may charge you a deposit to have the utilities put in your name while you take care of the estate.

A final tax return will have to be filed after you die, so keep last year’s tax forms handy for whoever is handling your estate.

Halverson also suggested giving away your frequent flyer miles and other rewards before you die so they aren’t lost. And make a note of all your subscriptions so they can be canceled.

Many of the suggestions Halverson made will require a financial planner or an attorney, but they’ll make things run more smoothly for the family you leave behind.

Her suggestions can also save time and money.

The Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce host lunch-and-learn events periodically during the year. Scheduled lunch-and-learn topics include succession planning in June, an AI workshop, a social media workshop and, in October, information about Medicare.