College grad and parents are ready for anything

Lauren recently graduated college and is preparing herself for the “real world.” She has accepted a position to work in Washington D.C. and will officially be out from under her parent’s care. Lauren is getting ready to move and is talking with her parents about all the details of living on her own. She will now have her own health insurance, bills, investment accounts, bank accounts and housing. She feels that her parents are super organized and can talk her through some preparation before being out on her own.

Lauren is impressed with her parents, Steve and Sandy. They have a Will, Living Will, POA’s, all their accounts and assets are held in a Trust they created years ago. They only have one home that is free and clear. During this conversation Lauren starts to notice a trend. Sandy seems to know about the insurance that her parents have and her dad seems to know all the info about the investments and bank accounts.

When talking about the house Sandy was not aware of what utilities they had for the home nor how to pay them. Both Steve and Sandy weren’t sure about the location of the Titles to the cars but said that they were probably in the office. Lauren began to think, what if one of her parents were to pass away? Would the surviving parent be able to run the household without any hiccups?

Lauren posed this question to Steve and Sandy. Do you guys feel that if one of you passed away that the other would be able to manage the finances and household on your own? Steve and Sandy quickly realized it would not be an easy task. What if they both passed away at the same time? Lauren, who is about to live halfway across the country, would not have a clue on figuring everything out. Steve and Sandy’s Trust and Will would give Lauren some direction but the detail is lacking for her to take over seamlessly.

Lauren needed a system for her parents to follow so that one of them or her could pick up the pieces in a “just in case” scenario. A friend of Lauren’s recommended Addio. Lauren’s parents were able to input all of their financial, insurance, and housing info into one system that would allow one of the parents or Lauren to take over the household if need be. While inputting the information into Addio, Steve and Sandy became more organized and it reminded them of any items they had omitted from Estate or Will.

Are both of your parents prepared for the unexpected?