Few persons expect to die when they do, and therefore, relatively few leave their affairs in perfect order. Those who administer an estate and take care of what is left often find themselves without the necessary information. To facilitate their job, it is advisable to give your personal representative or your attorney a letter of last instruction which is separate and apart from your Will. This letter should contain the following:
- Name and address of those relatives who are to be notified of your death
- Instruction as to burial and funeral including any prepayments of funeral expenses.
- Location of birth, baptismal and marriage certificates as well as social security card, citizenship papers, armed forces discharge papers and titles to automobiles.
- Location of safe deposit box and where keys are kept.
- List of insurance policies and where they can be found.
- List of stocks, bonds, securities, savings accounts,
credit union accounts, etc. - Statement of all real property owned by you with the location of deeds, mortgages, abstracts and insurance policies for real property.
- Location of income tax returns for previous five years.
- Receipted bills and canceled checks for previous five years.
- List of any gifts made and information needed for the estate tax.