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Personal Records
Management — What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
By Susan
Law Corpany
In my past several columns, I have
done an online version of a class I teach called Personal Records
Management. I could probably continue all year long and not run
out of subject matter. There is always a new way in which we realize
we are not organized. My latest came when I was going through security
at the airport.
Engaged in conversation with a woman
who was interested in finding out where she could buy one of my
books, I grabbed my shoes and purse out of the plastic bin and didn’t
notice that I had neglected to grab my laptop computer. The lady
behind me caught up with me a few seconds later. “I think
you forgot to pick up your laptop computer.” I thanked her
and headed back. By that time, my computer had been confiscated
by one of the security personnel.
“That’s my computer,”
I explained.
“What brand is it?”
I should have known the answer to that
immediately, but my mind went blank. I couldn’t remember if
it was the same as my desktop or a different brand. My husband has
a laptop. What if I said the wrong brand? Would he refuse to give
it back to me? It didn’t seem like a good idea to take a guess.
It didn’t help that the fellow immediately took an offensive
stance.
“You don’t know what brand
it is. How do I know it is yours?”
Because I’m the person who
forgot her computer and came back and said, “I forgot my computer.”
Then he turned and I saw the HP on
the front. “It’s a Hewlett Packard.”
“You saw.” He turned it
over. “What color is it?”
“It’s black and silver.”
“It’s blue.”
“Well, the bottom is black, and
the sides are silver.”
“You didn’t know that the
top is blue, and you didn’t know it was a Hewlett Packard.
I don’t think this is your computer.”
“It’s my computer. I just
don’t pay attention to what color it is.”
I opened my bag and took out the power
supply and handed it to him. “This power supply should fit
that computer.”
“This doesn’t say Hewlett
Packard. This is not the original power supply.” He was becoming
increasingly hostile. “This doesn’t prove it is your
computer.”
“I lost the original one.”
“What will happen if I turn this
on? What will be on the screensaver?”
“Nothing will happen if you turn
it on. It hasn’t been charged up.”
“There is nothing you can do
to prove this is your computer?”
“Here is how I can prove it is
mine. I am absent-minded enough not to remember what brand it is,
and I had to buy a generic power supply because I left the original
power supply in a hotel room. I haven’t charged it up. Only
a person like that would walk off and leave her computer in the
bin while going through security.”
I opened my bag and showed him the
empty spot where the computer belonged, tried my best to look harmless
and helpless, and miraculously his heart was softened towards me.
Reluctantly he gave me back my computer,
with a reminder to find some way of identifying it in the future.
It now has an address sticker on the bottom, which for the record,
is black. The bottom, that is. The sticker is white and gold, and
it has my address — something I can usually remember. It took
me two seconds to affix it.
There are consequences much more far-reaching
than not being able to get a computer back if we do not tend to
the organization of our records.
The Notebook
As I previously mentioned I would,
I have spent the past couple of months logging information my husband
would need if something happened to me. I have listed bank account
information, including automatic payments that come out of each
account, as well as amounts that are deposited directly. I have
included information on how to access these accounts online, as
well as pin numbers for debit cards and telephone passcodes.
I have listed credit card information
and bills that are charged automatically to various credit cards.
I have listed which credit cards I pay online and have given all
pertinent information regarding those accounts.
I have given password information for
my computers — both desktop and laptop — as well as
passwords for my email accounts and any other computer-related e-commerce
information.
I have listed the combination to our
storage unit. I will someday list the combination to our home safe,
as soon as I find where I put it. I am not an organized person by
nature. It is a stretch for me — a weakness that I am trying
to turn into a strength. (I want people to say nice things about
me when I die, not be upset at me because they can’t find
the information they need.)
There is more that needs to be added
to it, but I have a start and will continue to make additions as
I realize they need to be made. I continue to fine-tune my filing
system. I can now honestly say that I have more files than piles.
Progress!
More Important Stuff
If someone else is going to be watching
your children for an extended period of time — say you leave
them with Grandma and Grandpa for a week while you go off for a
little rest and relaxation — you should fill out a Power of
Attorney that would give them the right to obtain medical care for
your children in your absence during the dates in question. Stepparents
who are not legal guardians should have a form like this for their
stepchildren. I found that out the hard way once by trying to obtain
medical help for a minor stepchild.
Unless you have been in the situation
of trying to get emergency medical care for a child you do not have
legal guardianship over, you could underestimate the necessity of
a document like this. Let’s just say that it will make me
getting my computer back look like an easy task. Until parents can
be located and contacted and give permission for a medical procedure,
no treatment can be administered, which could result in unnecessary
trauma and suffering to a child in your care.
Most people wait until they are older
and have sufficient assets before doing any estate planning, but
the most important reason to have a will is to name a guardian for
your minor children. Simple wills are affordable and there is software
you can buy to prepare a will that conforms to the laws of your
state. If you do not name a guardian for your children, the state
will decide who will raise them in your absence.
I would like to strongly suggest that
you need to have a living will, a signed directive for your loved
ones and your doctors that will specify how you would like things
to be handled if it became necessary for you to be on life support.
Often people put off this kind of paperwork because of the expense
of having documents prepared by a lawyer. Although I don’t
want to cut into anyone’s legal livelihood, there are places
online such as FindLegalForms.com where you can purchase these forms
for a nominal fee, choosing the one for the state in which you live.
This will usually be part of an estate planning package if you have
your estate prepared by a lawyer.
If even one person does one of these
things from these columns and is ultimately helped by it, it will
have been worth it. It will probably be me. The next time I walk
off and leave my computer in security at the airport, I will be
able to tell them what the address label on the bottom of the computer
says.
And does anyone out there have any
idea where I might have put the combination to our safe?
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