One of the many things that you will need to consider when preparing your estate plan is how you would like your personal effects to be distributed. Almost everyone has an item of special meaning that they would like distributed to a certain person. Traditionally, these requests were included in the Last Will and Testament or the revocable trust documents. The disadvantage to this method was that whenever you wanted to make a change, whether it be changing the item or the recipient, or adding additional items, you had to sign a codicil to your Will or an amendment to your revocable trust. This would incur additional costs because the Codicil or the amendment had to be executed with the same formalities as the Will or revocable trust, which usually meant a trip to the attorney’s office.

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One thing each of us can do for the future is to get our personal and financial records in order. These records are both useful and something you will need on numerous occasions throughout your lifetime, including annual income tax preparation, financial planning and estate planning. It may even be relatives or friends who will need it in the event that something has happened to you. If you become incapacitated or pass away, your loved ones will need this information and documentation to take over your financial affairs, deal with insurance claims, apply for government benefits (such as medical assistance), or to settle your personal and financial affairs in the event of your death. You’re doing your loved ones a tremendous favor by keeping good records. Your filing system doesn’t need to be elaborate, just organized. The following is a list of what records you should maintain and how long you should maintain them.

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